


Building blocks

by Ohaymikoto



Series: Mega Man Unmixed [8]
Category: Mega Man (Archie Comics), Rockman Megamix | Mega Man Megamix, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Aquaphobia, Broken Families, Dismemberment, Drowning, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Guilt, Hints of racism, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Sexism, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Major Character Injury, Mass Murder, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of War, Mild Gore, Mutilation, Semi Descriptive Gore, Sibling Bonding, Strained Relationships, Survivor Guilt, hurt little comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25573159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohaymikoto/pseuds/Ohaymikoto
Summary: Your happy life could be snatched right out of your hands in the blink of an eye and when it happens you’re left asking yourself why it happened. Block Man is asking himself that too as he’s awaiting his judgement.(Formerly part of Mega Man Mixing but is no longer canon.)
Series: Mega Man Unmixed [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140221
Kudos: 7





	1. Baby steps

**Author's Note:**

> The first story in this series with a teen rating, depending on how things pan out during the writing process I may have to bump it up but we’ll have to wait and see about that, read the warnings and tags carefully before reading.
> 
> Nakaume Okazaki and Earl Donovan belong to me.

Silence, dreaded and empty.

"We’ll start from the beginning, is that okay?"

A human voice tore through the thick silence, the voice was addressing a robot sitting right across from them on the small table. The robot nodded silently, not uttering a word yet.

"Good, tell me about your origins."

The robot sighed but was fully resigned to the inevitable judgement that would be placed upon him, the distant sound of the ticking clock echoed in his sound receptors and the overhead light up in the ceiling cast long shadows upon their little table.

"My name is Block Man, my serial number is NHN-001, and I was built by Nakaume Okazaki founder of Nakaume Heavy Machinery for the purpose of construction and maintenance."

Block Man spoke slowly, his voice lacked the usual energy it always had and instead sounded heavily downtrodden. The human questioning him wrote down his reply slowly and politely hummed in response, their ballpoint pen scratched on paper loudly.

"Good, tell me a bit more about your creator."

Block Man shuddered at all the memories circling around in his memory circuits, memories of his creator...of their life together...

"Where should I start?"

There was so much the little construction Robot Master could say about his creator, so many little details and moments, so many things.

"From the beginning would be nice, your first day alive."

Block Man closed his big eyes and let out another sigh, his first day alive was a very special day and thinking about it now made him feel sick in his circuitry but obeyed the interrogator.

"The first time I opened my eyes it was a sunny morning, the date was 22nd of March 2007..."

**Nakaume Heavy Machinery's South American branch, five years ago...**

The first sight that Block Man registered was the ceiling, it looked fairly standard and had bright ceiling lamps dangling from it, not the most amazing thing to see upon one’s birth. Eventually his audio receptors went online as well and were immediately assaulted by the heavy sounds of machinery echoing through the walls.

Block Man whined and tried to move his left arm, he wanted the noise to go away, the response was a sluggish limb.

"Easy there."

A voice, old but soft, spoke next to him and Block Man turned his gaze to his left to see a human man smiling at him. The human man was seated by a computer that had cables hooked up to it and those cables were hooked up to the Robot Master as well.

The human man had black hair however it was clearly shifting to grey, his black eyes shone with a cunning glint behind a pair of thinly rimmed glasses, wrinkles adorned his face and hands. His facial features indicated Asian ancestry, however that was a rather irrelevant piece of information in Block Man's opinion. The visible cane in the man's hand seemed to imply poor mobility.

"It is rather noisy, isn’t it? Give it time and it’ll become nothing more than background noise."

The man walked over from the computer he’d been monitoring and took a seat next to the lab table Block Man was laying on.

"My name is Nakaume Okazaki and I’m your creator, you probably already know your own name, don’t you?"

Block Man nodded shyly and once more tried to move his limbs, they responded a bit better this time and slowly he sat up on the table.

"My name is NHN-001, Block Man, and I’m a Robot Master built for construction purposes."

Nakaume nodded in delight, he was so happy to see that his very first Robot Master was so far functioning well. He couldn’t wait to see the expressions on the others faces when he introduced his new son to them, they’d doubted him over the success of this whole project and some had even laughed.

Well who was laughing now? Nakaume Okazaki, that’s who!

"Why are my limbs so slow to respond?"

Block Man asked, it had taken a little bit of effort for him to get his legs to swing over the edge of the table.

"Your brain is still in the process of proper synchronization between the data programmed into you and your commands for mobility, this is very common for all Robot Masters upon being activated for the first time and it doesn’t last that long."

That reassured Block Man a bit and he carefully heaved his entire body off of the table and onto his sturdy feet, his legs trembled a bit but soon steadied themselves and he took a few cautious steps in place.

Nakaume watched him and quietly removed the cables hooked up to him so he wouldn’t get tangled up in them by accident or accidentally drag down the computer on the other end of the cables.

"Where are we? What will we do now? Am I the only Robot Master here?"

The elderly man chuckled fondly, his son was already displaying a childlike curiosity and asking so many questions.

"We are currently located in my personal lab in the basement of my house, I want to run a few tests to see if everything is working as it should and yes you are the only Robot Master in this entire community."

Block Man absorbed everything his creator said and his excitement grew, there was a whole community outside of the walls of this lab!? He wanted to see it desperately.

"I can see you’re very eager to see the outside world, then we’d be best to get those tests done right away."

The tests consisted of very generic things like tests of strength and general functions like sight or speech, Block Man passed every test and soon they were over just as fast as they’d begun.

"Can we now go outside?"

Nakaume nodded with a smile and his son cheered then gently grabbed his creator by his free hand and they slowly ascended up the staircase, Nakaume carefully opened the basement door and then lead Block Man through his house.

It was a very normal looking house but it seemed Block Man's creator was the only one living there, the front door slowly opened and the new Robot Master gazed up at a beautiful blue sky in awe.

"Father...the sky is pretty."

Nakaume nodded with a knowing smile and he too looked up at the sky, it was indeed a beautiful sight to see after spending a long time in his stuffy basement.

**Five years later, present time...**

"My creator, my father showed me around the rest of his house but we did not see the rest of the community that day."

Block Man finished his recollection of his first day alive, he clenched his trembling fists and flicked his tired gaze up at the interrogator who checked their wristwatch.

"That will be all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll continue with the questions. Thank you for your honesty and time."

The human collected their notes and left after nodding a goodbye at the Robot Master, the door closed with a click and a beep as the mechanical lock activated. Block Man sighed and slowly got off of the chair he’d been sitting on.

The Robot Master grabbed a wrinkly newspaper that was at least two days old and laid down in the bed his cell had provided, his dull eyes were fixated on the front headlines and he read them over again.

** _Nakaume Heavy Machinery North American branch CEO, Earl Donovan, leaves brief comment on the great tragedy that recently befell the South American branch of their factory. He says:_ **

** _"What happened was a great tragedy for all of us, for the families who lost their loved ones and for us who lost our own people, we are all in deep shock still and we hope that the investigation we’ll be launching two days from now will help to provide some form of resolution. I’m sure that that’s what my late father would’ve wanted."_ **

Block Man folded the old newspaper in half and held it close to his chest, his frame trembled and his optics blurred with tears.

"I’m so sorry father..."

He cried quietly in his prison cell that night as he waited for the next day to arrive, one day closer to judgement day.


	2. Know your neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Block Man's father had a surprise for him that morning, their family was bigger than just them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nakaume Okazaki, Earl Donovan, Takano Tsubakuro, Luca and the human interrogator belongs to me.

The next day his human interrogator returned and they resumed with the questions, Block Man wondered briefly what his answers meant for the investigation at large as he was indeed guilty of the crime.

"Today I want to ask a few questions about the community you worked for, a rough estimate of how many people lived in it please."

The construction Robot Master flinched and fiddled with his fingers, the memories stung deeply.

"Approximately 2 018 people lived in the community at the time of the tragedy, 35 of which were Nakaume Heavy Machinery employees while the rest of the people were fishermen or in some kind of trade be it local or non local."

Block Man spoke in a low voice but he was still heard by the human interrogator since they scratched down his answers quietly.

"Good, now what was their initial reaction upon your presence?"

At this Block Man actually chuckled a bit, he remembered those days of the community getting used to his presence pretty vividly and fondly.

"Well, my father kept me in the lab for two days after my activation as a precaution in case something abruptly went wrong with my systems. So it wasn’t until 24th of March 2007 that I was properly introduced to another human being aside from my father."

**Nakaume Heavy Machinery South American branch, five years ago...**

Another lovely morning swept over the home of Nakaume and his robotic son Block Man, the loud noises of construction was already in full swing from the factory a small distance away but that didn’t bother the two occupants of the house at all - Block Man had already learned how to turn it all into background noise just like his father said he would.

"Father, who is it that’s coming to visit?"

The construction Robot Master asked eagerly from his seat at the kitchen table while holding a fresh E-tank in hand, from across the table Nakaume chuckled fondly while reading the morning paper.

"It’s a surprise son, that means no asking about it."

Block Man pouted and took another sip from his E-tank, he visibly didn’t have a mouth but he did have a slit right below his jawline where he could pour in E-tanks. Nakaume took a sip from his morning coffee and glanced at his wristwatch again, he’d been doing that a few times now, then resumed reading his newspaper.

"Are they late?"

The huffy sigh Block Man got in response was all the confirmation he would get, the Robot Masterhad already figured out that his father was a man who disliked when people ran late for something.

_*knock knock*_

"I’ll get that."

Nakaume said with a delighted smirk on his face when he saw Block Man about to leap out of his chair to open the door, the Robot Master shot his father a glare then crossed his arms in a huff.

The human man grabbed his cane and left the small kitchen, his bad leg hurt a bit today so he hissed with every step he took until he finally reached the front door.

Block Man remained in the kitchen and impatiently tapped his fingers against the table's wooden surface, he wanted to know who was coming over mostly because this would be the first human other than his father that he’d meet.

"Block Man, you may join us now."

At the call of his father’s voice Block Man quietly literally threw himself out of his chair and eagerly jogged into the main room of the small house, this main room had both the living room and Nakaume's bedroom combined into one.

The Robot Master halted his jog when he saw the person standing by his father’s side, the person was a human man with tan skin and dark brown curly hair, his eyes were black just like Nakaume's and this man also had visible traces of Asian ancestry. The human man was a good head taller than Nakaume as well.

"Amazing...you weren’t pulling my leg after all..."

The human man spoke in awe with a slight North Carolina accent and cautiously approached Block Man who stared up at the human with equally amounts of awe, the Robot Master had no idea humans could be this tall!

"Block Man this is my oldest son and your older brother, Earl Nakaume Donovan. He works at the North American branch of our company."

The pride in Nakaume's voice was very evident and Earl blushed bashfully before extending his hand to his new brother.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’ve always wanted a little brother."

Block Man softly grasped his brother’s hand and gently shook it, he was a bit worried over accidentally hurting the human with his superior strength, Earl's hand was a bit cold to the touch but was pleasant to hold.

"A brother...I had no idea I had a brother!"

The Robot Master cheered happily and his big eyes sparkled in happiness, Nakaume watched his two sons interact and chuckled fondly at how excited the younger was. The older human wondered if his robotic son might explode from excitement when he found out introductions weren’t over yet.

"Not just a brother, Takano! Sister get in here!"

Earl called over his shoulder and a female voice replied from outside the house, Block Man couldn’t believe this - he had a sister too!?

A few minutes after Earl's call a woman entered the house, she had long black hair tied up in a ponytail and black eyes like her father, her skin was a slightly darker tan than her brother and she also had slight Asian features like the rest of the Nakaume family. Unlike her brother she was as tall as their father.

"Blocky, this my little sister and your older sister, Takano Tsubakuro. She’s the cofounder of Tsubakuro Precision Machining along with her husband Shu."

Takano gazed down at Block Man with less awe than her brother but with an endearing smile instead, she offered her own hand for her robotic brother to take, then she spoke with a soft voice laced with a Japanese accent.

"Nice to meet you, how do you do?"

Block Man happily took her hand and noted that her hand was warmer than her brother’s but was equally pleasant to hold, now the Robot Master was holding both of his siblings hands with no intention of letting go.

"Very well, you have a lovely smile!"

Takano blinked in surprise then flushed in embarrassment while Earl just snickered at his sister’s reaction to such a sudden compliment being thrown her way, Nakaume cleared his throat in order to gain their attention.

"Now that you’ve been acquainted, Takano and Earl why don’t you two show your little brother around the town?"

Before either brother or sister could reply Block Man was already dragging them both out of the door and past a red Subaru parked out on the driveway, no doubt it belonged to either of the human siblings, the sun shone down brightly on all three of them.

Takano and Earl glanced at each other as they were dragged along by their little brother, it was clear to them both that the Robot Master was a very energetic person.

"This way to town."

Earl pointed with his finger and Block Man tilted his body to see the town, his eyes widened when he took in the sight of it. The town was located in a small circular valley and was divided in two by a river that ran all the way out to the ocean in the far distance, the houses were all made out of wood and none were higher than two floors, the town had a lot of nature in it with many patches of flowers and lanes lined with tall trees.

"We grew up here and the people are really nice so don’t worry."

Takano assured the Robot Master as they drew closer to the town border, Block Man nervously nodded and hoped his sister was right. Though her reassurance did not put out the worry of not being accepted or worse being treated with hostility due to him being a robot.

The three siblings entered the town and saw many people going about their morning business, though many ceased what they were doing when they saw the two human siblings and soon a general air of happiness washed through the people.

"Earl! Takano! It’s so good to see you two again, it’s been so long since you visited!"

A small crowd gathered to greet the human siblings and Block Man gazed up at the different humans in awe, he had no idea humans could look so different! Some of the people were tall while some were short, some had no hair while others had lots, some had really dark skin while some had lighter skin than his siblings.

But they all looked so happy to see his older siblings.

"Sorry it’s been so long, we’ve both been busy with work."

Earl scratched the back of his head apologetically while wearing a sheepish smile, Takano apologized as well but added the promise of scheduling the next visit very soon. It was then that the gathered crowd noticed Block Man’s presence.

"Our father called us here specifically to meet our new little brother here, this Block Man."

Block Man felt very nervous with having so many eyes directed at him and studying him so closely, he couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

"What does he block?"

A small voice from the crowd asked innocently and a tiny human approached curiously with a few more tiny humans following the first one, the first tiny human was a small male with dark brown hair and mocha colored skin.

"Luca, Blocky here can make stone blocks."

The tiny human, Luca, gasped in amazement and quickly attached himself to Block Man after Earl explained why the Robot Master had such a odd name.

"Show me! Show me!"

Block Man soon found himself being abducted by the tiny humans and looked to his siblings for some help but they just chuckled at his situation, the adult humans looked a little apprehensive but seemed to trust the siblings.

Block Man found himself spending most of his day playing with Luca and his group of friends.

**Present time...**

"So the general response towards you was positivity from the children and a bit of apprehension from the adults?"

The interrogator asked while writing on their papers just like the day before, Block Man hummed in response and fiddled with his fingers anxiously. Recalling that day had made his hands tremble uncontrollably.

"I understand retracing your life is very painful for you so I again thank you for your honesty and time."

Block Man gave the human interrogator a weak but grateful gaze, this human had no reason to be this nice to him but he did appreciate it nonetheless.

The human looked at their clock and noted that time was up yet again, the Robot Master expected the human to leave but instead they presented him with a notebook and a pencil.

"Here, I have other business to attend to tomorrow so I’ll have to ask you to write down your experiences in this notebook. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow so I’ll take it back then."

Block Man stared at the leather bound notebook then nodded in understanding, the human interrogator then gathered up their things to leave when the Robot Master spoke up softly.

"Um...do you know if Earl or Takano will be visiting me? I haven’t seen them for many days now and I’m worried about them..."

The human interrogator frowned sadly at that question and quietly kept collecting their things, they answered only when they had everything gathered up and had on hand on the door to the cell.

"I have not been told of any inquiries regarding visits, so far it seems only I will be visiting you...if they have not made any effort to contact you in these passing days then I can only assume they do not wish to see you anymore."

Block Man flinched and stared down into the surface of the table while the human interrogator offered him nothing but a sympathetic look, they said nothing else after that and left the Robot Master to his lonesome.

Block Man buried his face in his hands and chuckled mirthfully, of course they would not want to see him anymore, his siblings hated him now and he fully understood why they did.

After all, who could ever view a murderer as family?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Blocky, he had such a nice relationship with his siblings in the past and now they hate him. At least he still has one person who seems to care about him.
> 
> Ah my kryptonite, describing locations and people.


	3. I still remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Block Man is left with nothing but a notebook, a pencil and his own memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for mentions of war and semi descriptive gore, hints of racism and slight implications of sexism.
> 
> All the original characters belong to me.

Block Man stared tiredly at the leather bound notebook and twirled the pencil in his fingers, it was the next day and his human interrogator was not visiting him today due to having other business to attend to, his human interrogator had told him to write down his experiences but so far he’d been stuck on even opening the darn thing.

But it would be very impolite and rude of him to not finish the assignment given to him by his interrogator...

The construction Robot Master sighed and opened up the notebook, he might as well get it over with, then put the tip of pencil onto empty lined paper.

_Well ma’am, may I call you ma’am? I hope I’m not offending you by assuming your identity. I’m not too sure what you meant about my experiences so I’ll write down whatever comes to mind..._

Block Man tapped his pencil against his blue forehead, what should he start with? Maybe some more details about his family?

_You have already asked about my family but I’ll share some more details with you ma’am, for starters my father’s first name is Okazaki - not Nakaume which is his surname. That point might’ve confused you ma’am, my father was a stubborn man while he was alive and insisted on keeping his name in it’s original Japanese form for some reason._

_Though Earl was quite the opposite, he chose to only use his mother’s surname because according to him its easier to be given a chance in "the land of the free" if your name didn’t sound too foreign._

_Father would always mutter something about "damn Americans" under his breath, I can only guess it had something to do with the war...sorry that might not interest you ma’am but he spoke about it a few times._

_I remember one particular instant in August 6th 2007._

"Father?"

Nakaume hummed lightly as he stared intently down at a framed photo clutched in his hands, it was a black and white photo depicting a family seated on a couch dressed very nicely in distinctly Japanese attire.

"Who are they?"

Block Man asked softly as he peeked over his father’s shoulder, he did not recognize the people in the photo and he’d never seen this photo either.

"My parents and I, before those damn Americans destroyed everything."

The construction Robot Master had heard his father mutter that phrase before, damn Americans, those words always dripped with so much venom and hatred it scared him quite frankly.

"I’m guessing you’re confused? I’m not too surprised, war history is not something you’re programmed with."

Nakaume stood up slowly and gently placed the photo on the bureau in front of him, then he grabbed two sticks of incense and inserted them into a circular board then lit up the tips of the sticks so thin streams of smoke blew into the air.

"May I...ask about them?"

Nakaume was silent for a little while as he put his hand together into a gesture of a prayer, Block Man cautiously copied his praying. The human man closed his eyes and inhaled lightly to calm his nerves.

"My mother was a seamstress and my father was a mailman, we didn’t have much but we made due with what we had. We lived in the city of Hiroshima during the war, I was born in 1943 and when I was two years old those damn Americans dropped that atomic bomb on our home city. Thousands died, those were the lucky ones, while the thousands that survived were the unlucky ones."

The construction Robot Master remained silent, he wasn’t sure what to say in response to that, he couldn’t picture what it was like to go through such an event. Slowly Block Man ceased his prayers and gently wrapped his arms around his father’s waist as the human man kept praying.

"My father had been out on his morning delivery...all that remained of him was his burnt bike and charred pocket watch, his shadow had been burnt into the wall of the house he’d been delivering to. My mother and I had been at home, our house collapsed upon us and my mother got trapped inside while it burned...she pushed me out of the rubble while the flames melted her skin, I still remember her screams while a neighbor dragged me away. Her burnt corpse was all I had left of her."

Nakaume stopped his prayers and gently stroked his robotic son’s head, he could feel the Robot Master’s shivering throughout his whole body, Block Man shuddered at the gentle touch.

"My leg was never the same afterwards, it got damaged while my mother saved me, the radiation and flames scarred it really badly. I managed with just a cane for many years but I was eventually forced to amputate it, some guy named Oblast got me a mechanical replacement. Tell me son, what do you think I felt during that time?"

Block Man blinked and then gazed up into his father’s eyes, a gentle gaze met with one filled with both horror and sympathy, the Robot Master couldn’t respond to that question. His databases couldn’t conjure up a definitive answer.

"I was angry, I hated the people who took my family and my leg from me. I still hate them, that has not changed at all, no amount of excuses can satisfy me. I don’t think I have the ability to forgive, should I forgive them?"

Nakaume chuckled and crouched down so he was on his son’s level then put his aged hand on Block Man's trembling ones.

"You will experience as you live my son, the feelings of hatred from others and yourself as well as the feelings of forgiveness. But I want to impart this to you in particular, grudges, a grudge can and will destroy you so be careful."

The human man then pulled his robotic son into a warm hug while the smoke from the incense brushed against the framed photo of Nakaume's deceased family, Block Man pondered on his father’s words and wondered if he could ever bring himself to hate anything or anyone as strongly as his father did.

"I hope you never have to experience what it is like to bear a grudge, a heavy weight like that will fester inside your heart like an illness until it kills you."

_I still don’t understand my father’s feelings even after all these years, I don’t know if I can hold a grudge. Ma’am, have you ever hated someone or something so much that it turned into a grudge? Perhaps it’s an emotion only shared amongst humans..._

Block Man ceased writing and face palmed pretty hard then sighed heavily.

"That’s totally the type of story she wanted to hear, Blocky Nakaume, you freaking idiot."

The construction Robot Master berated himself for opening up with such a morbid story, the murder of his grandparents and how the war affected his father had little bearings on the current criminal investigation going on. There was not much he could do about it now, better write something happier to contrast with that story...

_That’s probably not something you wished to hear ma’am, forgive me for that. I have other things I could share, like my siblings - they both have Robot Master children you see. I have not met everyone of them in person but I do remember vividly when my nephew Impact Man was activated._

_That was on March 20th this year._

"Are we there yet?"

Block Man groaned due to the sheer boredom he was experiencing in the backseat of his father’s grey Nissan, Nakaume rolled his eyes and just gave the usual assurance that soon they would arrive. They had been on the road for a while now after leaving South America and had just reached North Carolina.

It took at least another hour before they finally rolled up to the parking lot of Nakaume Heavy Machinery’s North American branch, it looked pretty identical to the one they had back home. Block Man eagerly jumped out of the car and stretched his stiff joints, being cooped up in that car had almost given him cabin fever, his father soon joined him and was equally relieved to be out of the car.

Father and son entered the factory to find hustle and bustle in full motion, machines roared and people ran around with blueprints and tools. Earl approached his father and brother with a huge grin on his face, the man was very excited to show them the Robot Master he’d been working on for half a year.

"He’s this way, NHN-002 Impact Man is comprised of three separate robots that combine into one, he’s my pride and joy."

Earl explained as they entered a big room with less activity in it, Block Man recognized the room as a lab much identical to the one he’d awakened in five years ago.

The lab table laid in the center of the room and had a lot of wires coming out of it, on the table laid a large Robot Master with spikes where his hands should be and one spike poked out on the top of his head while there shot out a spike on each of his shoulders. Impact Man was dual colored in orange on his right side and yellow on his left side while the rest of his body had black coloring, and like Block Man he lacked a visible mouth.

Block Man approached the lab table while Nakaume and Earl talked, the construction Robot Master was in awe of his larger nephew, carefully he rested his tiny hand on Impact Man's arm and watched on as slowly life was poured into him.

When Impact Man's brown eyes fluttered open he looked around in confusion before his gaze rested upon his small robotic uncle, both said nothing for a while until Block Man cheered happily and energetically hugged his nephew's arm.

"I love him already!"

_It’s been almost two months since then, Impy (that’s my pet name for him) is a gentle Robot Master and so diligent with his work - I can tell he’s gonna accomplish great things._

_I wish I could say goodbye to him at least, to Earl as well...to my whole family._

Block Man had to put the notebook away for a bit to regain his composure, he missed his family every day that he spent locked up in his cell and knowing now that they had made no move to contact him made him feel even worse.

"What’s the point of this? They already know I did it...I killed everyone. Is this just a way to torture me? Those sadists."

If he’d had a mouth then he would’ve smiled wryly, but he felt the urge to keep writing like it might ease his mind just a wee bit.

_I didn’t get to see Takano as much I would’ve liked but she did call a lot, my father had a monitor like phone...I forgot what it was called but it was really neat, she introduced me to her husband Shu Tsubakuro. Shu is grew up in China before settling in Japan with my sister._

_They both build Robot Masters but they have an odd quirk to them, she explained it to me back in November 11th 2009._

"Why are the serial numbers not consistent?"

Block Man asked curiously while speaking to his sister over the monitor, Takano was going over a little list of her robotic sons and it had become obvious that there was something unusual going on with their serial numbers.

"You noticed? It’s a little something between my husband and I."

The woman chuckled and took a sip from a tea mug she had placed on her office desk, it was still steaming.

"We decided to mark which of our sons we each built, kinda like a little friendly competition to see which one of us would build the most. Our boys are less than amused but don’t make any protests."

Block Man could only imagine how frustrating it might be for his nephews to have slightly different serial numbers amongst themselves, it could make people question whether they are really relatedor not.

"So who is currently in the lead?"

Takano grabbed her reading glasses and scanned the list before taking them off again.

"It’s a tie, I built TTN-002 Yamato Man and TTN-004 Tengu Man while Shu built STN-001 Wind Man and STN-003 Burst Man."

Block Man rolled his eyes at the obvious annoyance but also clear signs of her friendly though competitive spirit, he could only imagine what other competitions the husband and wife team had.

"You two are like made for each other, you two ever considered building a biological child together?"

Takano blushed at the implications and hid her red face with a clipboard while Block Man laughed cheekily at her reaction, he loved teasing his sister so much.

_They never did have a biological child together but I’m pretty certain neither minds it much. It’s a nice memory to look back on and laugh at, those were easier times for us all._

_I only have energy left for one more recollection before I need to take a rest, ma’am, I want to tell you about the town I used to live in. The town was named after the river the flowed through it, in the local language its called Agradable and that’s Spanish for pleasant. River Pleasant and a town named after it, the irony of it truly hurts._

_My bestest friend Luca Esposito once told me about his dream, this was back in May 16th 2011._

"When I’m older I wanna go to the moon!"

Luca said cheerfully from his spot on the stone fence around his family home, the human child had invited his robotic friend to come and watch stars with him. Now Luca, who was only ten years old, was not supposed to be up and out during this late hour and Block Man was actually supposed to get him back into bed...but the Robot Master was not supposed to be out late either.

"You want to become an astronaut?"

Block Man corrected from his seat next to Luca who cast him an annoyed glance, the Robot Master knew how much his human friend didn’t like being corrected on words and terms but the childish part of Block Man couldn’t help but flaunt his higher intelligence.

"Yeah...that, I’m gonna plant my own flag on the moon like those people back in the 60s did!"

There were probably laws against such a thing but Block Man chose to not voice that, he’d let the boy dream for now until he got older.

"I bet your parents would love to hear that."

The construction Robot Master teased in a singsong voice, Block Man knew fully well that Mr and Mrs Esposito would not approve of such a profession for their only son.

"Blocky! You know they would throw a fit just like when my sister Rita left to become a...a...therapist? Psychiatrist? It was something like that, mom worried for days until Rita called and dad did not approve until she got a job."

Block Man had never met Luca's older sister, she’d already left Agradable by the time he’d been activated but he’d heard a lot of positive things about her. Rita Esposito was a kind and considerate girl to everyone around her but was also rather headstrong in what she wanted.

"Blocky, promise you won’t tell my parents about my dream?"

Luca pleaded and held up his little pinky finger for his friend to promise on, Block Man rolled his blue eyes humorously but did indeed extend his own pinky finger, their fingers intertwined and the construction Robot Master promised wholeheartedly to not tell on his friend.

"LUCA LEONARDO LORENZO ESPOSITO!"

The two friends screeched in fear when the booming voice of Luca's mother hollered at them from the house behind them, they where in deep trouble for disobeying curfew.

_We both got told off severely for being out late like that, Luca had to help his mother in the garden while I had to stay away from him for a whole week. I laugh just remembering how angry Mrs Esposito were at us._

_Ma’am, I must take a break now or else I’d risk overwhelming myself with all these emotions. Just an hour of rest would suffice then there is one last tale I need to write about, the tragedy of April 5th 2012._

_I promise to give as many details as I can muster._

Block Man silently left his bed and solemnly stared out of the lone window in his cell, it was dark outside and clouds covered the sky but he could distinctly spot a crescent moon glowing beyond the clouds - he used to watch the night sky with Luca a lot.

Quietly Block Man wrote down another passage in the notebook.

_Ma’am, today is April 13th. Luca would’ve celebrated his 13th birthday today if he’d still been alive, I look up at the crescent moon in the sky tonight and all I can think about is the promise I made to him._

_Would it be too selfish of me to ask you to keep a thought of him in your heart tonight?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter became rather lengthy and I apologize for that but I’m still rather pleased with how it came out, I tried to be as respectful as possible with the heavy topics that showed up.
> 
> And yes, their casual names are really Blocky Nakaume and Impy Nakaume Donovan.


	4. A town called Pleasant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all vanished in a flash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for lots of death and semi descriptive gore.
> 
> All original characters belong to me.

Block Man took calming breathes as he picked up his pencil and notebook once more, taking an hour of emotional rest had been the right call yet his hands still quivered at the inevitability of reliving the worst day of his robotic life. The comforting rays of moonlight peeked out from beyond the dark clouds and cast a silver hue upon his cell.

No, he must not falter now. He had to do this.

The construction Robot Master flipped through the already written pages of the notebook and stopped at the first blank page he could find then slowly he began to write.

_Well ma’am, here we are...I honestly don’t think I’m ready for this but I have little choice. Remember what I told you about River Pleasant? That river ran through Agradable and out into the ocean, but before it reached our town it would brush against the Pleasant Dam and then follow the diverted path made for it._

_That dam was the only thing protecting Agradable from the massive River Pleasant, especially during the rainy season, and I primarily worked at that dam in order to keep it up to standard._

_I was in charge of keeping that wall of protection standing, and I failed._

Block Man rubbed sleep out of his optics and slowly rolled out of bed, his joints groaned and popped in response. He’d been hard at work the day before at the dam, the rainy season was over but the risen water level of River Pleasant had yet to reside into It’s natural state so he’d had to put up a few more blocks as extra protection.

Today was another sunny day, the clouds rolled by like white cotton candy in the sky.

The construction Robot Master exited his bedroom and made his way down the small hallway leading into the main room, he could hear his father’s angry voice muffled through the walls and he sighed in deep concern. When Block Man entered the kitchen he found Nakaume grumbling angrily to himself while reading the morning paper.

"Another harassment call?"

The curt nod he received from his father was all the answer he needed, they had become more frequent this past month but Nakaume refused to tell his robotic son what the calls were about no matter how much Block Man prodded at him.

"Father please, tell me what they want. It’s obviously upsetting you."

The human man remained silent on the matter which left Block Man with nothing but exasperation and worry, it was futile but the Robot Master had inherited his father’s stubbornness.

"Once I come back from work today you will tell me or I will look into it myself, whether you like it or not."

Block Man spoke with determination in his voice while fetching himself an E-tank from the fridge, he heard his father’s deep sigh behind him but his mind was made up on the matter - whoever was harassing his father via their telephone was going to regret it.

"Fine, I will tell you, happy now?"

Block Man blinked in surprise and turned around with a dumbstruck look in his optics, Nakaume wore an expression of resignation but did look mildly humored by his son’s shocked expression.

"But after you finish work."

That mattered little to Block Man who cheered happily in triumph and rushed over to hug his father, Nakaume hummed lightly and patted his son on the head fondly, the construction Robot Master was so happy at the prospect of helping his father with a problem.

_I never did find out why my father was being harassed via telephone, I wonder if he had told anyone about the upsetting phone calls - I highly doubt it - but that matters very little now._

"Now stop dawdling, you’ll be late for work."

Block Man grumbled indistinguishably but did eventually break the hug with his father, the Robot Master checked his internal clock and mentally noted that he still had a whole hour before his workday started though knew it was hopeless to argue with a stickler for being on time like his father.

Block Man gulped down his E-tank in a flash then headed over to the front door, he cast a look over his shoulder to see his father waving goodbye to him lazily with a gentle smile on his face.

"I’m off now, love you father."

Block Man slowly closed the door behind him.

"Love you too son, see you soon."

Nakaume called out then contently returned to reading his morning paper once he heard the front door click shut.

_That was the last time I saw my father alive, not a day goes by when I don’t miss him dearly. The one comfort I can take away from that day is that the last words I shared with my father were words of love._

Block Man walked away from his home happily, he hummed a little tune to himself as he got further and further away from his home. The birds chirped up in the branches of the trees as he passed them by and the sun shone beautifully through the gaps amongst the leafy crowns up high.

_It was such a peaceful morning, I remember, nothing indicated that anything bad was going to befall us._

The construction Robot Master rounded the last tree and stepped into the boundaries of Agradable, though the morning was still young many were already out and about. Block Man cheerful greeted anyone he passed by and usually received an equally cheerful greeting right back if they weren’t in too much of an hurry.

"Darn it..."

Block Man stopped his walking when his audio receptors picked up the despairing sigh of a young woman, he looked around until his optics spotted a young woman straining herself to pick up a dropped book despite her heavily pregnant stomach hindering her.

"Here you go Miss Diaz."

The Robot Master swiftly picked up the book for her and kindly offered it to her grateful hands, Miss Diaz sighed but smiled at his kindness.

"Thank you Blocky, I can’t wait until my little one comes out so I can finally move around properly again."

Block Man laughed but nodded in agreement, Miss Diaz lovingly patted her stomach before walking away towards the school building, he watched the young teacher leave then resumed his walk.

_Miss Diaz's body was never found, it likely got carried out into the ocean and was eaten by the fishes._

Block Man passed through most of the town without any further detours, though he did stop to watch two fishermen arm wrestle. Carlos, a fisherman who primarily dressed in green, was locked into a stalemate with Rodriguez, a fisherman who primarily dressed in yellow.

"Who’s winning?"

Block Man asked with a humored look in his blue optics, he’d been roped into arm wrestling with the duo before though he’d never once been defeated since he did have an unfair advantage over them with being a robot and all.

"I am!"

Both of them shouted at the same time with broad and challenging smiles on each of their faces, it was clear the two men were good friends, Block Man laughed and put a single hand over both of their tightly clasped fists then without effort brought them both down onto the flat surface of the table they were sitting by.

"Nope, I am."

The construction Robot Master said cheekily to the two fisherman who laughed loudly at his swift defeat of them both, Block Man left them to their next round and resumed walking.

_Carlos and Rodriguez were smashed into pieces, a lot of things disappeared, but their tightly clasped hands were found still holding onto each other despite both being severed by the bicep._

"Blocky!"

The Robot Master halted his step when a familiar voice called out to him, Block Man looked behind him to spot Luca running up to him with a big grin on his face. Luca had his school bag slung over his shoulder and a bag of lunch in his hand.

"School is going to start soon, you’ll be late."

The Robot Master said with a knowing look, the human boy huffed and reached into his backpack then pulled out a folded cloth that he then unfolded. Block Man realized that it was not just any cloth, it was a flag, the flag was light blue in color with stars and fishes drawn on it along with Luca's name on it.

"It’s my flag! This flag is going to the moon one day!"

The human boy exclaimed with a broad smile on his face, he practically radiated pride and excitement, his dream of going to the moon still burning strong in his heart. Block Man displayed happiness in his optics and nodded.

"Do bring me along whenever that happens."

Luca folded up his flag and put it back into his school bag again, a smile still firmly implanted on his face.

"Of course I will! You’re my best friend Blocky!"

The human boy promised wholeheartedly then turned on his heel and began running in the direction of the school house, Luca energetically waved goodbye as he ran, Block Man stood there for a bit and watched his back grow smaller in the distance.

_Luca was my first human friend and my only best friend, I’m happy I got to know him._

Block Man checked his internal clock and knew he couldn’t linger any longer, the Robot Master walked out of the town and followed a familiar wooded path that led to the Pleasant Dam. It was a peaceful strolling path and the sound of the river nearby offered a soothing ambiance.

The construction Robot Master came to the end of the path and took in the sight of the massive Pleasant Dam, it was a huge structure that he never grew tired of looking at.

Time for work.

Block Man walked along the path that led inside the dam, though over the sound of running water he could hear the sound of a car, as he walked he looked around until he spotted a white car driving slowly along the bumpy road leading into town. He’d never seen that car before but he did know who was likely driving it.

Rita Esposito was coming for a visit, Luca had spoken excitedly about his older sister and was even more excited over introducing her to his robotic best friend. Block Man looked forward to meeting her.

No time for gawking.

Inside the dam there was a lot of action and movement, workers walking about and observing different screens and monitors. Block Man politely greeted his coworkers and kept out of their way, he didn’t want to bother them.

Most of the humans worked in the upper levels of the dam while Block Man and the other worker robots worked in the lower levels of the dam, the elevators that was installed helped greatly whenever any of the workers needed to traverse the levels quickly. Thankfully for Block Man though he could simply exercise his teleportation beam and get around in a jiffy.

When Block Man got to the level he usually worked at he spotted one of his human colleagues, the janitor mopping up some stray spills of water and oil.

"Hiya Blocky, you are in high spirits today."

The janitor pointed out with a slight smile, the human man had only been working there for roughly a month but he had become quick friends with the Robot Master. His dark blue cap and overalls were stained with dust and dirt as usual.

"My best friend’s big sister is visiting today, Luca’s been excited over introducing me to her. I spotted her car on the way here."

The janitor tipped his cap with amusement and nodded at Block Man’s words, their brief chat was interrupted when the janitor's walkie talkie buzzed and informed him of a mess that needed cleaning up on the upper levels.

"I’m sure she’ll love you. Gotta go now, one of our clumsy lads made a mess again."

Block Man waved his friend goodbye and started his work.

_His body was never found, it was likely washed away like everyone else who worked at the dam._

Block Man hummed to himself as he worked amongst the groaning pipes and thick walls of the Pleasant Dam, his audio receptors rhythmically picked up the sound of the water outside gurgling and bumping against the dam.

All sounds he’d known for five years now.

So when he heard a strange creaking and churning noise he grew confused, the water pipes usually didn’t give off sounds like that...was that the sound of running water?

Block Man abandoned his post and followed the sound of water, the churning grew louder and the sound of water grew louder.

"A leak?"

The construction Robot Master asked himself, his pace grew more frantic and his foot falls that before would echo against the walls could now barely be heard above the sound of crashing water.

Block Man rounded a corner and saw water flooding the lower levels, the churning sounds stabbed at his audio receptors viciously. Whatever was broken down there needed fixing immediately, Block Man accessed his internal computer and sent out an alarm to the whole dam about the leakage.

Once that was done he began descending down into the water, Block Man didn’t mind water much, he was halfway submerged when a new sound echoed above the water but it was muffled - as if it was far away.

The lights up in the ceiling flickered until they went completely dark and a sudden quake shook everything around Block Man, what was that smell? Something burnt?

_Everything after that is a fast blur._

The sheer force of the water hit him before he could even realize it, Block Man was smashed against the nearest wall and made a large dent into it. Debris and iron girders smashed against his body as the large waves of water quickly flooded the hallways and corridors, Block Man felt his arm bending into an awkward angle and tearing itself off then vanishing into maelstroms abyss.

Block Man could barely see anything as his body was flung around more in the crashing waves as the dam finally broke under the weight of the river waters merciless torrent, his optics blurred and his audio receptors screeched while warning signals blared in his computer brain about the increasing damage to his body.

His body finally hit something soft and stopped moving, Block Man closed his optics and stayed put. He was scared and confused and just wanted the water to go away.

_Before that day I didn’t mind water, it was soothing to listen to even, but now just the sound of rain makes my legs grow weak._

The construction Robot Master was not sure how long he remained lodged into the soft haven but his touch sensors finally picked up the waves calming down, he finally dared to open his optics but immediately closed them again. His optics were severely damaged and flickered in clarity.

_Looking back, I’m actually glad my optics got damaged, it spared me from seeing everything in clear detail._

He couldn’t remain there forever, he had to get out, but the one arm he had quivered uncontrollably when he tried heaving himself up. No...please move, he had to get out of the water.

The water was still there, everywhere, slushing about inside him. Water...water...no more water...please...

Hands? Block Man felt strong hands pull him out of the water, his touch sensors could register them but he couldn’t see anything, had his computer brain taken so much damage it was starting to register things incorrectly?

Now he was out of the water and the hands were gone, it was a mud filled edge of the river he’d been stuck in. The water was gone, it was gone and could no longer touch him, he was safe now right? Right?

_I think the water damage coupled with how I was flung around must’ve disoriented my computer brain into remembering things wrong, I probably heaved myself out of that mud but remembered it as unknown hands saving me._

Block Man hesitantly opened his optics once more and saw a blurry depiction of a flickering sky, everything was quiet and no birds chirped anymore. It was like everything had just gone and died.

"Ha-ha...hooommmeee..."

He had to get home, he tried saying it out loud but his voice box stuttered on the verge of collapse. He could do without a voice for a little while, it was...fine, it was okay. Now that Block Man was on more solid ground he managed to get himself standing but his legs barely carried his heavy weight.

No matter, he just had to get home.

Walking the path home was a disorienting affair, he could make out things around him but everything flickered and blurred. He bumped into trees repeatedly and had to carefully tread along the roots and stones in the path.

"Whiiii-?"

Block Man spotted a white mass along a curve in the path, focusing real hard he could determine it was a white car that had collided with a tree and was now half submerged in the larger river, the white mass was sliding bit by bit into the river.

Wasn’t that Rita's car?

The construction Robot Master stumbled over quickly to the car and peered into the smashed window of the passenger seat to see a human figure slumped over the steering wheel, Block Man saw the water filling up the backseat area and knew the car wouldn’t stay above for much longer. He had to tear off the car door to get Rita out or else she would drown.

Block Man pulled back his one remaining arm and with ease smashed it right into the car door, the car wobbled and slid down a little while Rita’s body lulled to the side limply. The car door gave way like a house of cards and tumbled away, the Robot Master reached inside and flailed about until his fingers grazed across human skin. Block Man quickly began pulling the woman out, hopefully he didn’t hurt her too badly.

"M-m-miiisss?"

Block Man dragged Rita’s body out onto the safer part of the curved path just in time to see her car go under with a gurgling sound in the water, looking down on the woman he saw red. Her face was covered in red, blood, she wasn’t moving either and was silent.

Blood was supposed to stay inside humans and if she wasn’t moving then...

Block Man shuddered, she was dead, there was nothing he could do for her in that case but leave her body out in the open so that when the proper authorities showed up she could be collected. Leaving her there made him feel guilty but he had to get home.

The rest of the path was uneventful until Block Man neared the edge of his hometown to see...water, the town was partially flooded and many wooden buildings laid scattered about in pieces. Fallen trees bobbed along in the water along with people.

Human bodies caught on objects and mangled into barely recognizable states, Block Man cried out in horror and rushed into the water again to find it well over his head. He walked slowly in the destroyed remains of his home, he bumped into many stray objects like furniture and animals but the worst were...the pieces.

The pieces of human remains.

_I naively thought that some buildings and people had to have had survived so I went to the school house to find Luca._

The path to the school house was deathly silent as Block Man tried to avoid bumping into the stray pieces or full on bodies of the people he had just seen alive and well, once he saw what was left of the school house his oil ran cold.

The school house had collapsed upon itself.

Block Man approached the ruins to see a lot of small fishes swimming about, he shooed them away as he drew closer, he wondered why they had gathered here. Peering inside the school house ruins Block Man saw why, children’s bodies floated in the water - some intact and some in pieces both big and small - while small fishes nibbled at their flesh like maggots. If Block Man had the ability to vomit he would’ve.

Block Man dared to look around and saw a school of fishes nibbling upon a child’s severed and smashed in head, a very familiar looking one too.

Luca.

The construction Robot Master pulled away from the school house and just wanted home, he wanted his father, so he trudged along as fast as he could. If he was crying then the water around him soaked up the tears like it did with the flowing blood from the dead.

_Luca would never get to fulfill his dream, I still see his last beaming smile in my dreams and nightmares._

The path home was cluttered with wood and dead bodies, and so much water! Block Man pushed everything aside without care, he needed to get home. The steep path leading up to his home was still riddled with water but surely his home had gotten away with minor damage and his father would be there to hold him-

It was gone.

The water had washed away his home and left little behind, Block Man limped forward and his optics blurred with tears. The Robot Master collapsed into a heap on the driveway and wailed loudly until his core powered down.

Everything was gone.

Everyone was gone.

Luca was gone.

His father was gone.

_The rest of the story you know ma’am, the authorities arrived and collected everything they could find of the dead then salvaged me from where I collapsed in my grief, I was repaired into functional order and am now facing charges for killing everyone._

_I have laid awake every night since that day and wished I had died instead of everyone I loved, they were irreplaceable but I can be replaced easily._

_I wish I was dead._

_There is little else to say, thank you for putting up with me ma’am, whatever happens after this I am glad I got to meet another kind person. Thank you._

Block Man pulled his pencil away and stared at the pages he’d filled, there is nothing left to say regarding the destruction of Agradable, it was over. Slowly he closed the notebook and went over to his bed, he grabbed the pillow and placed the notebook underneath then placed the pillow over it.

"That’s that then."

The Robot Master muttered tiredly to himself when he returned to looking out the window, the moon shone down on him and he sighed contently.

It was finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longest thing I’ve written for this series to date, dunno if I’ll ever write anything longer than this.
> 
> Don’t forget to tell your loved ones you love them, you never know which moment will the last.


	5. Something foul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diving for answers only leads to more questions.

The sun glared down on the black and white police van as it carefully drove down the bumpy road leading to the ruins of Agradable, River Pleasant bobbed along peacefully now that it could flow free without restraint.

"We should park the van around here since the road is not structural sound yet up ahead."

From the drivers seat spoke a woman with dark pink hair cut into a pixie cut and brown skin and dark brown eyes, the woman was agent Roslyn Krantz. Next to her grunted her partner and senior agent Gilbert Stern, an aged man with black hair turning white and fair but starting to wrinkle skin who had a gruff exterior.

"You sure the swimming tin can is up for the task?"

Gil grumbled a bit irritatedly under his breath as he unlatched his seatbelt and stepped out of the van, Roslyn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose then glanced over her shoulder apologetically.

"Sorry for my partner, he’s just a bit upset over the case."

In the backseat of the van sat a blue Robot Master with flipper like feet, his armor bore different shades of blue while his kneecaps, left hand, both shoulders and a few decorations on his helmet bore a white color. A ring of yellow went around his midsection and on both his shoulder pads and forearms and helmet protruded out light blue fins, his right hand consisted of a trident in luminous green. His face was that of a friendly looking boy with oceanic blue eyes and pale complexion.

DAN-002 Ocean Man just nodded in understanding and slowly maneuvered himself out of the van, he gazed upon the river sadly.

"Oh, Dios mío..."

Ocean Man muttered in a thick Spanish accent, Roslyn climbed out of the van as well and could understand why the Robot Master said what he did.

"If you find anything...human in the water then let it be, our primary job right now is gathering any evidence we can."

Roslyn gently grabbed the aquatic Robot Master by the hand and together they walked down the dirt road to where Gil stood waiting for them, the human woman felt it was rather strange to have someone that was roughly the same size and appearance of a 10 year old child aid them in their investigation but chose to not voice it.

"There you are, now the job is simple: scavenge the ruins for anything suspicious looking or anything that might look useful. Got that?"

Gil spoke curtly to the Robot Master who nodded softly, Roslyn offered a reassuring pat on the back then helped Ocean Man get into the river. Once the aquatic Robot Master had gone under the surface she returned to her partner's side with a reprimanding look.

"You should be a bit nicer to him, Doctor Astil was kind enough to have one of his sons come and help us."

The older man grunted while fiddling with a headset, Roslyn brought out her own pair and turned it on without issue then showed Gil how to do the same.

"Son huh? Yeah yeah...Ocean Man, can you hear me?"

Down below in the murky green water swam the Robot Master around swiftly, his blue eyes emitted a bright light so he could see properly. He’d been met by small schools of fishes and leaves from nearby trees.

"Si, I’m approaching the ruins now."

Ocean Man saw below him heaps of rubble from the dam, fishes swam in and out of the cracks, around the rubble he could vaguely see what looked like pieces of humans though they were decomposed. The aquatic Robot Master shivered but kept swimming on.

"It appears the whole center of the dam is missing, only the furthest sides appear to still be standing."

His glowing eyes took in the big vacuum in front of him where the center of the dam once was, more heaps of rubble laid scattered about amongst pieces of technology.

"Understood, explore them thoroughly."

Roslyn spoke into her headset then turned to her partner who was flipping through his small notebook with a furrowed brow.

"So you believe that tin can's testimony?"

The younger agent brought out her own little notebook and scanned different points of interest regarding Block Man’s testimony about the day the dam broke. She knew Gil was on the doubting side when it came to the words of the construction Robot Master.

"I do, my gut is telling me that something else caused this."

Gil grunted at his partner's voice then turned on his headset again when he heard buzzing, Ocean Man's voice rang in his ears as the aquatic Robot Master reported his findings. Ocean Man had apparently found what used to be the lunchroom for the employees, remains of a kitchen area and vending machines were scattered about which were the expected however a batch of duffel bags were not.

"Well Rosie, your gut might be right on the money. Ocean Man, bring the duffel bags up here but be careful."

One by one Ocean Man brought up five thoroughly soaked duffel bags, they were standard in shape and had a black color. They looked harmless enough on the outside but what laid inside might not be, Gil offered Roslyn a box of plastic gloves as she crouched down to open them up.

Ocean Man watched curiously from the edge of the river as the zipper of one of the duffel bags was pulled down, water oozed out of the bag, Roslyn and Gil looked into it then their eyes widened in shock.

"C4 charges."

Gil grabbed his own set of plastic gloves then opened up the other duffel bags to find identical C4 charges, soaked thoroughly in water but still fully intact. The two humans shared a knowing look between them then they had Ocean Man dive back under to see if there were more duffel bags, they waited not too long until he confirmed the existence of six more on the other side of the river.

Soon they had eleven duffel bags filled with C4 spread out on the grass.

"The other six where found scattered around in what appeared to be an area filled with staircases leafing from the lower levels up to the upper levels."

Roslyn wrote down in her notebook as Gil took photos of the bags and their content while Ocean Man slowly pulled himself out of the river carrying a small black box in his hand.

"I found this señor and señiora, it’s the black box from the main computer. I’ll try to connect to it."

Ocean Man showed off the black box then set down on the grass, he placed the back box in his lap then pulled out a cord from inside his helmet and inserted it into the black box. His eyes closed slowly and he began to hum.

"Duffel bags with C4...are you suspecting what I am? Block Man did mention he smelled something burning before the dam broke."

Roslyn asked her partner who nodded grimly, something foul was in the air.

"I’ve connected, the data is scrambled but I’ve found schedules...a registry of employees..."

Gil perked up at that one and pulled out a printed list of the employees that worked at the Pleasant Dam, each one of them were marked as deceased. Carefully the data registry was matched to the printed list until they reached the very end of the list.

"This data registry matches the list, all of the 35 employees are accounted for."

Roslyn furrowed her brow and scanned her notebook again then spotted a point of interest she’d written down.

"The janitorial staff, did it include any males?"

Ocean Man shook his head right away, the list showed only three female janitors and all three had perished. Gil tightened his frown when he caught onto what his partner was checking, a discrepancy in Block Man’s testimony.

"Block Man’s testimony mentions a male janitor who had been in their service for at least a month, he left to do work before the dam broke."

All three shared an understanding look amongst each other then slowly began to pack up the found evidence into the van, they needed both their tech savvy and explosives savvy colleagues on this right away.

Roslyn got back into the drivers seat and began driving the van back the way they came, the murky River Pleasant grew smaller in their wake. Gil stared out the passenger window while Ocean Man took a nap in the backseat.

"We have two people to investigate now, that male janitor is definitely suspicious and that female interrogator equally so."

Gil counted off on two of his fingers, Roslyn nodded slowly as she kept driving.

"Their possible motives are unknown but one thing is for sure, the ruin of that town was deliberate and now our only surviving witness to the event has gone missing. Someone is withholding the truth and actively working against us, but the question is...who and why?"

The woods around the van decreased in number as they pulled up on a bigger motorway, the clouds in the sky covered the sun and birds flew overhead without a care.

Two days ago the door to Block Man’s cell was discovered opened wide by a passing guard, Block Man himself was nowhere to be found and all he’d left behind was a leather bound notebook he’d hidden under the pillow of his bed.

That was two days ago yet his fate is still unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as action packed or as long as the previous chapter but still an important one, Gil and Rosie are now on the case! But poor Blocky is missing, what has happened to him?
> 
> Ocean Man makes a cameo, lil guy was a big help.


	6. Truth and Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who’s lying? Who’s telling the truth? And who can be trusted?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan, Takano and Shu Tsubakuro belong to me.

Roslyn drove the van past a splendid looking greenhouse when she pulled up to Doctor Pedro Astil's house to drop off Ocean Man, said aquatic Robot Master fidgeting eagerly in the backseat to be allowed out of the cramped van. Gil scanned their surroundings with his usual look of distrust but he could admit that all the nature around them was beautiful.

The van slowly came to a halt upon the driveway and Ocean Man was already halfway out of the vehicle, Roslyn wondered to herself if his eagerness to leave was due to genuine homesickness and partially to escape her partner's scrutinizing gaze.

"Papa! I’m home!"

Pedro Astil himself was waiting for his aquatic son in front of their house and happily enveloped Ocean Man into a warm one armed bear hug, next to the human man was a young looking teen crouched down by a black motorcycle with purple and dark blue flaming details.

The teen was wearing a dark blue motorcycle helmet so their entire head was hidden from view, they appeared to have fair looking skin based on the little the two agents could see from their black fingerless leather gloves, around their neck they wore a purple bandanna. The teen wore a black leather jacket with a flaming heart on the back and metal spikes on the shoulder pads, under the leather jacket they wore a plain blue shirt, their black jeans sported knee pads with spikes on and on their feet were steel tipped dark blue boots with a slight heel.

A real punk looking teen.

"I’m glad to have you home my boy, I hope you were able to help the nice officers in their investigation?"

Roslyn and Gil approached the doctor, Gil keeping a suspicious glare at the punk teen by the motorcycle - they hadn’t made any motions to confirm whether they were paying attention to the agents or not.

"Your son was a great help Mr Astil, we made a few interesting discoveries thanks to him."

Roslyn offered a friendly smile and a hand to shake, Dr Astil let go of Ocean Man in order to shake her hand with an equally friendly smile on his bearded face. Ocean Man skipped over to the punk teen and began to cheerily chatter away at them while they nodded along a few times.

"Good, any news on...Blocky?"

A somber look overtook Dr Astil's face as he brought up the topic of the missing Robot Master, Roslyn merely shook her head wordlessly. Ocean Man also lost some of his cheerful demeanor and hung his head gloomily, the punk teen saw this and comfortingly patted the aquatic Robot Master on the shoulder then they jumped onto their motorcycle and drove away in a loud roar.

Gil watched the dust cloud from the motorcycle grow faded in the distance with a narrowed glare.

"Who was that?"

Dr Astil chuckled humorously and gazed after the punk teen with a fond look in his brown eyes.

"That was my newest son, DAN-004 Robbie Astil, he’s a good hearted boy but it might not show."

Ocean Man waved after his youngest brother then returned to his father side with a sad look in his oceanic eyes, the aquatic Robot Master looked up at Roslyn.

"Please find Blocky, he’s a good robot and a really good friend, no matter what anyone says he’s innocent. I refuse to believe he’d ever harm anyone."

The aquatic Robot Master pleaded desperately but also with deep loyalty for his missing friend, Gil crossed his arms then glanced at his partner who crouched down to Ocean Man's level with a soft smile on her face.

"I believe he’s innocent as well, and we’ll do everything in our power to bring him back safely."

A broad smile spread onto Ocean Man’s face and he then ran off towards the big greenhouse, no doubt to spend some time his other two brothers. The humans were left to themselves on the driveway.

"We best get going now, we have people to question further.”

The agents piled back into their van and drove away slowly, Dr Astil watched them leave then he too made his way towards his greenhouse - he had a lot of plants to water and trim.

The drive was silent all the way up to their next destination, Nakaume Heavy Machinery’s North American branch. The duo had scheduled a meeting with Earl Donovan earlier today and had thankfully made it in good time, standing by the factory’s entrance was a big and bulky Robot Master.

It was Impact Man.

The Robot Master watched them quietly while they parked, there was a solemn air surrounding him. The two agents approached him and he politely greeted them with a handshake each.

"You got hands now?"

Gil questioned the Robot Master with a raised brow, Impact Man looked down upon his black hands and nodded.

"Father installed hand modifiers into me yesterday, I’m still trying to get used to it. But that’s neither here nor there, I’ll show you to my father’s office now."

The two agents were led into the factory and it was just the way they’d last seen it when they’d started the whole investigation in the first place, Roslyn could feel the workers staring at her and her partner as they passed through, though this time there was a noticeable air of tension.

"Father is currently on the phone with my aunt but I’ll inform him you are here."

The Robot Master said politely when they reached the door of Earl's office, he left the agents alone briefly then came back and ushered them inside. Gil was the first to see the man they were meeting with and boy did he look tired.

Earl Donovan sat slumped in his office chair and was nursing a cup of steaming black coffee, his eyes had faded bags under them and his tie was poorly done, his business suit was wrinkled as well.

"You two wished to speak to me again?"

Earl's voice was sluggish and raspy at the same time, Impact Man went over to his father’s side and pulled him up into a more respectable sitting position then forced him to part with his cherished cup of coffee - that earned the Robot Master some weak protests but nothing more.

"Yes Mister Donovan...is your sister also here as we requested?"

Earl nodded his head lazily towards his opened up laptop, the two agents craned their necks to see on the screen was a video chat program. Gil moved the laptop into a better angle to see the face of Takano Tsubakuro staring right back at him, she looked a little more composed compared to her brother but Gil's trained eye could spot the clear signs of fatigue on her face.

"Good, we are merely here to ask about a few details. Firstly, Block Man’s testimony mentions that your father was experiencing harassment via telephone at least as far back as a month before the murders occurred. Do either of you have insight to give?"

Brother and sister shared tired glances before they nodded, Earl motioned for his sister to speak up first.

"Father was indeed getting harassed, he was rather tight lipped regarding the details but to me he mentioned that the caller was always the same person. The caller was described as having a gruff male voice with a southern drawl, the man was very threatening and angry in every call."

Roslyn wrote down the details with a deep frown until Takano quieted down and Earl added his piece.

"Father mentioned to me that the caller wanted him to get rid of an unsightly abomination, he mentioned nothing more to me."

Gil tapped his chin in deep thought, that was not much to go on and due to the vague details given he could not piece together a motive.

"Your brother’s testimony goes on to mention a male janitor working at the dam, we checked the list of employees and saw no male janitor. Is the list outdated or...?"

Earl spoke up first this time, a brow raised high and a confused shine in his tired eyes. He clearly seemed to not have any idea about what Roslyn was asking him.

"No, the list is kept up to date very frequently. If there is a change in staffing the list would be updated immediately, so whoever this male janitor was I don’t have the faintest idea but I do know that only authorized personnel was allowed in the dam."

Takano had nothing to say on the matter since she was not involved in her brother’s and father’s company. Gil tapped his chin once more but this time with a slight smirk on his face, they now had one prime suspect.

"Did your father have any enemies you were both aware of?"

Brother and sister both shook their heads in near synchronicity, if the late Nakaume'd had any enemies then he took that knowledge with him into his watery grave.

"Recent findings indicate that the dam was deliberately destroyed via the use of C4 charges, either of you know anything about this?"

Gil asked coldly and fastened his glare upon the two humans they were questioning.

"If you are accusing either of us of mass murder then you can shove it, Takano has not left Japan in months and I’ve been busy with work. You can confirm that with some further questioning."

Earl hissed with a scowl, Gil leaned forward slightly in his chair and narrowed his gaze challengingly. Both men stared each other down while Roslyn pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Block Man went missing from his cell two days ago and has not been found, where were-"

The female agent was interrupted in her questioning when a tightened fist was slammed onto the desk separating them and a chair was pushed onto the floor roughly, papers scattered onto the desk and the laptop bounced lightly. Earl glared venomous daggers onto Roslyn and Gil.

"I have not been allowed to see my little brother during this entire investigation! I thought he’d died during the flood and found out he was alive due to a newspaper! I tried every day to get a chance to talk to him but you people kept telling me it was not allowed, I have not spoken to or even seen my little brother for days! AND NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCUSE ME AND MY FAMILY OF BEING BEHIND HIS DISAPPEARANCE!?"

Impact Man rushed over and grabbed his yelling father into a tight hold while trying to calm him down through gentle words, Gil leaned back into his chair quietly while glancing at his partner who looked a little shaken up by Earl’s outraged outburst and he gently patted her on the shoulder.

"Father calm down! Please...please breathe...please..."

Slowly Earl ceased his anger filled huffing and was gently guided back into his pulled up chair by his son, gasping for breath the human man shuddered then hung his head as tears began to spill out of his burning eyes.

Impact Man rubbed circles onto his father’s back as the man dissolved into tears, Earl shakily leaned into his son's arms and was held in a more gentle hug.

"Forgive my brother’s outburst, both he and I are at our limits. We lost our childhood home, our dear father was potentially murdered, everyone we knew and grew up with are gone, our mother’s grave was washed away, and now our little brother who is only five years old has gone missing possibly never to be seen again. We...there is nothing else we can tell you..."

The facade of composure finally broke on Takano's face and tears trickled down her cheeks, quickly she averted her face and was soon enveloped into a loving embrace by a man who’d been sitting out of view of the screen.

The man, Shu Tsubakuro, held his weeping wife then looked into the video chat and slowly ended the call.

Gil and Roslyn were left with no one to talk to so they turned their attention onto Impact Man, the Robot Master gave them a helpless look then nodded his head slowly towards the door - the meeting was over. Slowly the two agents left the office, feelings of turmoil deep in their stomachs.

Impact Man was left alone to comfort his father as the human man tried to wipe his tears away, the Robot Master wanted to cry too but knew he had to be strong for his dear father.

He needed to gather all the strength he could muster, and not shed a single tear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mystery thickens and we see how Blocky's family is holding up.
> 
> Small appearances by the Astil family.


	7. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Impact Man is left feeling helpless and alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan and Obsidian belongs to me.

Leaving his father to emotionally collect himself in his office had been a hard decision to make but Impact Man eventually relented.

The Robot Master hurried through the factory, he carefully avoided bumping into anyone or tripping on the way, he wanted to talk to those agents before they left. There was something he wanted to get off his chest.

"....not much to go on, we should try gathering some information about that female interrogator."

He heard their voices in his audio receptors as he approached the main entrance, out by their parked van he found them muttering to each other over the lack of enlightenment they’d gotten from the meeting with his father and aunt.

"From the very sparse information I could gather from the guards at the jail her name is Lisa and her surname starts with an E, she’s a therapist who volunteered and was extremely persistent about getting involved with Block Man, it’s not much."

The female agent read out of a small notebook while her male partner scowled. Impact Man coughed loudly to gain their attention and politely waved at them when their eyes turned to him.

"Pardon me for interrupting, you’re not too busy...?"

Impact Man felt very uneasy under the glare of the male agent, Gil, despite the Robot Master being well over the human's height. The female agent, Roslyn, looked at him with a far more inviting disposition and he relaxed somewhat in her presence.

"Of course not, anything you wanted to talk about?"

Roslyn rolled a pencil between her fingers eager and ready for any type of information pertaining towards their investigation.

"It’s a speculation of mine...probably a far fetched one too but...from what you all discussed during the meeting I’m getting this feeling that what happened to Agradable was planned but it didn’t work out."

Gil scoffed at Impact Man’s stuttered response, the Robot Master twiddled with his black mechanical fingers and slightly dug the tip of his feet into the ground of the parking lot.

"The dam was intended to break and kill everyone but I think my uncle was supposed to be among them, him surviving seems to have made whoever is behind this panic."

Roslyn tapped her chin then nodded slowly, Impact Man could see in her eyes how the gears of her brain began to turn and lightbulbs starting to light up.

"You might be onto something, if this was simply kill and destroy indiscriminately then Blocky surviving would mean little but the destruction was so covert that many including Blocky himself believed he was responsible and now he’s gone missing without a trace then there is the implications behind what your father said about him not being allowed to see him..."

Gil too began to tap his chin and now he smirked, the man seemed to be liking how the threads were starting to be woven together.

"If it truly is like that then I think the motive behind this whole thing is good old racism against robots."

Impact Man clenched his fists and stared down into the pavement, something that simple ruined the happiness of his family?

"My father and aunt are not coping well with all of this, my aunt is going to take some leave from her work to recuperate and I’ve prompted my father to do the same. I can’t stand watching them suffer like this while I can do nothing...I want to help."

The two humans shared a look then much to the Robot Master’s shock it was Gil who patted him on the arm comfortingly.

"You can help by getting your dad home and getting him to rest, he’s gonna run himself straight into a wall if he keeps working in such a state. I promise we’ll find your...uncle and bring him back, the people behind this will pay."

Roslyn smiled knowingly at her partner’s words then nodded in agreement then wrote down something in her notebook then ripped out the paper and held it up for the Robot Master to take.

"If anything happens or you just want to talk then call us."

Impact Man carefully grasped the piece of paper that had both Gil's and Roslyn's contact information on it.

"Thank you...stay safe, both of you."

Impact Man watched the van as it drove out of the parking lot and away down the road, the agents spoke about a woman named Lisa that they needed to question...hopefully they found her. With nothing left for him there the Robot Master returned back inside the factory to see all of his fellow colleagues giving him both hopeful and sympathetic glances.

He just shook his head slowly then walked back to his father’s office, leaving the employees to sigh and murmur dejectedly.

Earl was packing up his stuff for the day, way before he was actually scheduled to leave, this meeting today had proven to him that he needed rest. He’d leave a trustworthy person in charge until there was some form of closure.

Father and son locked eyes when Impact Man entered but neither said anything, what was there to say? The human needed rest while the Robot Master needed some hope to cling to.

When they left the factory that day none of the employees objected, only left wishes of good health.

"Do you think uncle is dead?"

The implication behind the question stung but Earl kept his eyes, though severely burdened by the tiredness stinging in them, firmly on the road home as they drove in what once was silence.

"I don’t know Impy...I want to believe he’s alive until proven otherwise."

How fitting that rain clouds would start to gather in the horizon, but at least their drive home was a short one so no rain reached them until they had a secure roof over their heads. Earl gave his son a warm smile then a loving pat on the arm before he retreated towards his room to get some sleep.

Impact Man wanted to hope too. He really did.

The Robot Master quietly whistled deeper into the house as he rummaged through the fridge to find a E-tank, in response a low sound came closer until a strange orb floated into the kitchen. The orb was a deep and dark purple in color while the eye in the center and its intricate design was white in contrast.

"Hey there Obsidian, we came home early today."

The strange orb, Obsidian, made a sound akin to a mix between a purr and a hum then floated over to Impact Man. The Robot Master’s little friend rubbed their round being against his face - where his cheek would’ve been to be more exact - and kept making their strange sound.

"I’m happy to see you too, today was pretty rough...let me tell you all about it..."

Obsidian circled around Impact Man’s head in eager anticipation while the Robot Master chuckled, the world outside was filled with nothing but sad and disheartening news at the moment but at least for now he could pretend everything was going to be okay.

At least for now he didn’t feel alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the most eventful chapter in this story, but for now we’re going to leave Rosie and Gil in favor of following Impy.
> 
> Hmmm....does Obsidian seem familiar? Guess it’s just my imagination...


	8. Chasing rhymes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A string of odd phone calls sets them all up for a chase across town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan And Obsidian belongs to me while all the nursery rhymes used in this chapter do not belong to me.

Impact Man woke that morning to Obsidian buzzing loudly right next to his audio receptors, they seemed to be trying to imitate a morning alarm. Still a wee bit groggy the bulky Robot Master lazily pushed his little orb friend aside, Obsidian squeaked and bopped up and down in place to express irritation.

"Okay okay...I’m awake."

Impact Man sighed in defeat and slowly sat up in his bed, his large joints popped in response to the movement. Impact Man saw rays of sun peeking in through slivers in his dark brown curtains, it was probably late in the morning by now - he’d overslept his alarm somehow.

His audio receptors could pick up the distant noise of clatter in the kitchen his father must be making breakfast for himself, it would do the Robot Master well to get some breakfast as well. At the urging of his little friend Impact Man left his bedroom and walked into the kitchen to indeed find his father making breakfast.

"Somebody had a nice sleep today."

Earl glanced over his shoulder with a light smile on his face and a teasing edge in his voice, the bags under his eyes still present albeit a nuance lighter. Obsidian purred in agreement and circled around Impact Man teasingly while the Robot Master huffed.

"My alarm didn’t wake me like it should, father did you...?"

Earl laughed airily at the pointed accusation but didn’t do much to deny it.

This morning had started good Impact Man noted, his father was in a slightly better state than yesterday and was a bit playful again but he still held an air of fatigue around him. That air would probably not leave until this investigation was solved, for better or for worse.

"So I called Pedro this morning-"

Earl was cut off from speaking his piece when the shrill call of the telephone tore through the house, the human could not leave his scrambled eggs at the moment so his son quickly went to answer the sudden call. Impact Man reached the telephone and quickly pressed the button that would put the call on loudspeaker.

"Hello? Donovan residence."

The background noise was the first to be heard, a lot of ruckus from what sounded like people and...was that the sound of church bells?

_"Is Earl Donovan present? This is urgent."_

Impact Man confirmed though very confused that his father was indeed present and listening, the caller who had previously sounded worried seemed to calm down a bit. The caller sounded male and with a noticeable southern drawl to his voice.

_"Good, listen closely..."_

Obsidian buzzed in confusion as the caller began to...sing?

_"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb_

_Mary had a little lamb, little lamb_

_It’s wool was white as snow."_

_"Where can you find Mary’s little lamb? Somewhere close by I reckon."_

And that was that, the call ended without ceremony and left the kitchen in a hush. Father and son looked at each other with clear and tangible confusion on their faces, was this some sort of prank? What kind of weirdo would just call out of the blue, sing a nursery rhyme and then hang up?

"Should I...call the police?"

Impact Man asked slowly and uncertainly, Earl blinked stupidly while pouring his scrambled eggs and fried mushrooms onto his breakfast plate then shrugged.

"Might as well...I guess?"

The call to the police was an awkward one to say the least, Impact Man was glad that Roslyn had been the one to answer and assure him that she would be there soon along with her partner, if Gil had been the one to answer he feared severe rejection.

Breakfast passed in relative silence since the only thing that father and son could think about was that strange phone call, Obsidian seemed equally confused but they couldn’t really speak up to confirm it. When the agents finally did arrive and Impact Man replayed the call for them to hear they both donned the same confusion.

"What the hell? Is this weirdo telling you to go to a farm?"

Gil scratched the back of his neck in agitation, he’d dealt with weird phone calls before but this one certainly took the cake and ran with it.

"There are no farms in this area, so no lambs to be found."

Earl pointed out with a exasperated shrug, Roslyn rewound the call a few more time with a furrowed brow. In her mind it sounded like a riddle, but if it wasn’t a farm then...

"Any petting zoos around here? There should be lambs there."

Impact Man shrugged this time, he was still fairly new so didn’t know the area that well besides, what business did he have amongst animals? Earl though nodded and took out his cellphone then searched for the closest petting zoo in their vicinity.

"The closest petting zoo is a 30 minute drive away from here."

Everyone shared a look amongst each other then wordlessly packed into the police van, this could either be a prank that they are humoring or it was a covert attempt to aid them. Either way they had to investigate the matter.

When they reached the petting zoo many visitors gave them confused glances, a policeman and policewoman alongside a big Robot Master and a little flying ball and a disgruntled looking man made for an odd team up.

"Well, we found the lambs. Now what?"

The while little lambs pranced around their containment area while children of different sizes petted them or fed them happily, Gil looked around at the peaceful scene and felt waves of nostalgia hit him all at once. To be that young and carefree again...

_*ring ring*_

Earl jolted in surprise when his cellphone vibrated urgently in his pocket, the group gathered around him as he fished out the device and pressed to accept the call. Again the same voice greeted them and again the sound of church bells greeted them.

_"Good, you found Mary’s little lamb. Cute things, aren’t they?"_

Gil and Roslyn looked around the area frantically, if the caller knew they’d found the right location then he had to be watching them close by.

_"Listen closely..."_

_"Ring around the rosie_

_A pocket full of posies_

_Ashes! Ashes!_

_We all fall down!"_

_"Posies and rosies, where can you find them? Somewhere close by I reckon."_

And then the call ended as abruptly as the first one leaving the group stupefied, first lambs and now flowers? What kind of weirdo were they dealing with!?

"The closest florist is one block away to the north!"

Roslyn said while checking the map function on her cellphone, the group just collectively shrugged at the weirdness of their situation and ran out of the petting zoo - leaving the little lambs to prance around to their little heart’s content.

When the police van pulled up to the florist shop an outdoor display of roses and posies in different colors greeted them, a very beautiful sight to admire if they had been there under different circumstances.

"The bastard is probably watching us from the big church in the middle of town, that thing is massive."

Earl hissed while fishing out his phone again, the others looked away from the flowers to see that he was right. The grand church with its magnificent towers loomed over them menacingly. Impact Man held Obsidian in his hands gently while his father’s cellphone rang again.

_"I find flowers to be visually beautiful but a pain to deal with when one has a allergy towards them."_

The caller chuckled humorously then again sang another nursery rhyme.

_"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall_

_Humpty Dumpty had a great fall_

_All of the king’s horses and all the king’s men_

_Could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again."_

_"I’ve buried what remains of Humpty Dumpty in a location far north from where you lot are standing right now, it might be macabre but I’ve marked the spot...I must implore you to right this wrong."_

The call ended as the church bells silenced, booming silence save for the buzzing of the people around them was eerie. Earl put his cellphone down and sighed heavily.

"I think he’s talking about Blocky, my brother."

Impact Man froze, if the rhyme about Humpty Dumpty was truly about his missing uncle then he feared for the implications behind the caller's final words. Obsidian purred comfortingly in his hands while Gil and Roslyn nodded in grim agreement.

"A location far north from this very spot...there is a scrapyard..."

Earl trembled while clenching his fists, if his baby brother had ended up in a scrapyard then...he wasn’t sure what exactly he would do but one thing was for sure.

Someone had to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is this mysterious caller? An ally or a foe?


	9. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was there hope hidden in the scrapyard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan and Obsidian belong to me.

The scrapyard made Impact Man feel sick, for a robot like him the mere sight of the large piles of mangled robots made him feel unsteady. He’d never seen so many robots in such decay and to his horror some even seemed to be still twitching with sparks of life.

"Impy, son, you may stay with the van if you’d want."

Earl gently placed his hand on his son’s arm, besides him Obsidian hummed in concern, the human man followed his son’s gaze towards the piles of broken robots and saw how some still twitched. He shuddered and averted his gaze however he knew such an end was unavoidable for pretty much all robots...even his own son would probably not be spared from such a fate.

"No I...I won’t."

The Robot Master clenched his trembling fists and steeled himself, this was merely a taste of what they’d encounter once they actually got permission to enter the scrapyard to search for his uncle's remains. Speaking of which, father and son along with their little friend looked ahead of them to see Roslyn and Gil discussing the request heavily with the scrapyard employees.

So far the discussion seemed to be turning in their favor.

"We just want to search around for this specific object, it pertains to a investigation."

Gil spoke slowly and composedly, he knew keeping his cool was the key to convincing the scrapyard employees to give them entry but he was growing tired of having to repeat their reasoning.

"I don’t know..."

The employees muttered amongst each other, the two employees they’d managed to hunt down seemed otherworldly in the amount of skepticism they held. Gil had to deeply repress the urge to groan out loud while Roslyn rolled her eyes rather overtly.

"Who’s really going to care whether we move some of the piles around or not? Just let us in, we’ll look around and then we’ll leave. Deal?"

Roslyn glared intently at the two employees who gulped nervously under her gaze, they looked at each other again then nodded in agreement and went to fetch the key to the front gate.

"I swear...robots are almost easier to handle than humans."

The woman grumbled to herself while Gil could only begrudgingly agree to that statement, he then waved for the other three of their group to join up with them.

Slowly the front gate of the scrapyard screeched open and the group entered, it was a rather macabre sight for even Gil who didn’t particularly care for robots - essentially dead bodies just being left to decay in the natural elements. They had to split up to cover as much ground as they could but all had agreed to meet up by the front gate once they had to leave or yell loudly if they found the supposed spot for Block Man’s remains.

Obsidian flew around many piles and buzzed, they scanned for anything that matched the description they’d received regarding what Block Man looked like but so far their scanners couldn’t discern anything amongst the scraps of broken robots.

Impact Man would vomit if he had both a mouth and the ability to even do it, his hand modifiers switched to his signature spikes and he was now using them in the most vulgar way possible, mounted on his spikes were the crumbling remains of his fellow robotic brethren. Pieces of their broken bodies fell to the dirty ground as he flung them aside with deep guilt, digging through these piles would most certainly haunt his nightmares for many nights to come.

Unlike his son Earl dared not move the heaps of broken robots lest he risk being crushed under their heavy weight and their sharp edges, he recalled that the mysterious caller had apparently marked the spot where his baby brother’s remains rested, so the spot would logically be somewhere away from the piles. He just kept looking around for any piece of familiarity.

Roslyn grunted as she pushed an old television like robot out of the way, her shoulders and thighs ached from how much she was straining them but she could not rest now for she’d promised Ocean Man she’d bring Block Man home in one piece and with a cleared name to boot. The aquatic Robot Master’s loyalty had deeply touched her so she had to keep going.

This was not Gil's first rodeo when it came to searching for missing people though from his experience the prospect of finding any salvageable pieces of Block Man were extremely bleak, the first couple of hours after a person has gone missing are the most vital since the possibility of finding said person alive are the highest then but in Block Man’s case...there was little hope. Gil sighed heavily as memories of grieving families received the news that their loved one had been found dead played in his mind, and he’d foolishly promised Impact Man they’d find his uncle. How foolish could he get?

Would they truly find the happiest outcome amongst these broken robots?

Obsidian was the first to return to the front gate, they’d not found anything in the area they’d been assigned to. Following them was a shivering Impact Man, oil dripped from his spikes. Earl and Roslyn returned together, both looked exhausted from the search. Though Gil had not returned...

"HEY! I THINK I FOUND HIM!"

All of them, save for Obsidian for obvious reasons, jumped when Gil's sudden holler called from the scrapyard. The fires of hope began to kindle within the group as they stumbled hurriedly in the direction of Gil's voice until they saw him crouched down by a smaller pile of broken robots.

The expression on his face almost immediately dosed those sparks of hope, Gil held in his hands the remains of Block Man’s arms and other indistinguishable pieces of what once was his body. Roslyn frowned sadly while Impact Man looked away from the horrific sight, his eyes blurred with tears while Obsidian futilely tried to comfort him by rubbing their body against his cheek.

_"I love him already!"_

He could remember it like it was yesterday, the day of his activation, his grandfather and his uncle had been present for the event. His uncle had said that with such a happy voice and hugged his arm so tightly despite his confusion. Two months...he’d only known his uncle and grandfather for two months before they were both taken from his life...it was not fair.

Earl was faring no better than his son though his tears refused to come, he’d probably used them all up, slowly he stumbled over to Gil and knelt down onto the dirt with little care for how his pants soaked up the mud. With trembling hands he took the pieces from the agent who respectfully said nothing to deter the grieving man.

_"A brother...I had no idea I had a brother!"_

Five years ago he thought his father was pulling his leg when he told him he’d built a fully functional Robot Master, his father was getting on in years but he’d decided to humor him by showing up along with his sister, looking back now he felt foolish for almost declining to visit. Calling Block Man his baby brother felt so natural after he’d spent a little time bonding with the little guy, and now...he’d never speak to him again or spend time answering all of his curious questions.

"Why...?"

His voice was barely a whisper that he choked out to no one in particular, Gil watched him with nothing but sympathy. Gil had seen this scenario play out many times but it never got any easier to watch, Roslyn walked over to her partner and crouched down next to him.

"Was this all you could find?"

She whispered softly, Gil shrugged and looked grimly down at the patch of mud where he’d found the remains laying. He had not thought of digging in it.

Roslyn though refusing to accept this outcome began to dig in the mud, if the remains had been here at least since yesterday then there was a possibility that some pieces had been drowned in the mud by the pouring rain, her fingers clawed through the mud like wet tissue paper until she felt something hard brush against her fingers with an audible metallic scratch.

"There is something buried here!"

She exclaimed and then dug deeper to get a better grip on whatever it was, Impact Man dared to look at Roslyn as she pulled a small metallic box out of the mud, Obsidian purred hopefully right next to him and Earl hitched his breath when Roslyn opened the box only to find a chip inside.

She carefully took out the chip and showed it to Earl, he gazed down at the familiar design he’d seen on schematics and the inscription was unmistakable. NHN-001 was inscribed into the metal, that was Block Man’s cognitive circuit and to Earl’s trained eye he could see it was not damaged.

With a trembling hand he cradled his brother’s cognitive circuit when Roslyn handed it to him with a soft smile on her face, Earl finally shed tears but this time it was happy tears to match his watery smile, Earl looked over at his son who still had tears in his eyes and showed him Block Man’s cognitive circuit.

"Blocky is finally coming home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blocky is safe! But how did he end up here?
> 
> I wrote this entire chapter today due to having suffered severe writers block (pun intended) since the last update but I found my groove thanks to Sabaton and their songs, also this chapter and chapter 10 actually switched places during the writing process but more on that next time.
> 
> Also two call backs to the earlier chapters of this story, those two lines are the first things Blocky said to his nephew and big brother respectively.


	10. Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What answers does Block Man’s memory hold?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan, Obsidian, Takano and Shu Tsubakuro belong to me.

When Gil stepped into Nakaume Heavy Machinery he was almost taken aback by the complete change of atmosphere, the factory workers no longer held an air of tension but instead an air of relief. This time there was no staring either, that was good, Gil wasn’t too fond of being stared at.

"Agent Stern, you’re alone today?"

Gil perked up at the familiar voice and saw Impact Man approaching him with a noticeable cheer in his brown eyes, Obsidian floated next to him as usual. The agent gave a curt nod in response.

"Rosie had to stay at home today, she pushed herself a lot yesterday at the scrapyard."

Impact Man seemed slightly disheartened by this but shook it off fairly quickly then gestured with his hands for the human to follow him, Gil didn’t speak much to the Robot Master as they walked further into the factory though he did perk up in interest when he heard that Takano Tsubakuro and her family had just arrived.

"Auntie Takano and uncle Shu got over here as fast as they could when they heard Blocky had been found, they brought their sons along as well, they are currently with my father in the lab helping to build Blocky's new body."

Impact Man explained happily, Gil hummed quietly at this recent development. He had expected the couple to appear at some point but so soon? This family must be pretty close knit.

"Oh, here is one of my cousins that I mentioned. Yamato Man!"

Gil almost stumbled when he saw the purple samurai themed Robot Master with a very sharp looking spear strapped to his back, Yamato Man was not as tall as his cousin but definitely looked far more fierce with his narrow black eyes and purple armor with gold and white details along with his samurai helmet.

Yamato Man had been loitering around the coffeemaker when his cousin had called him out, the samurai Robot Master looked up from his pondering and casually waved at his cousin but stiffened when he saw Gil.

"You’ve probably already met Yama here agent Stern."

Gil nodded, his lips forming a firm line as the human and Robot Master glared each other down, the whole incident with Mr. X still very clear in his mind.

_"Mother and father asked if I could fetch them some coffee, the after effects of teleporting here had made them slightly nauseated."_

Yamato Man spoke...in Japanese, Gil blinked in bewilderment at the completely foreign and alien sounding language coming out of the samurai Robot Master while Impact Man sighed in irritation and rolled his eyes.

"Yes...Doctor Cossack has yet to fully work out how to teleport a human without having that human suffer some side effects, but anyway are they still in the lab?"

Yamato Man nodded then went back to the coffeemaker to ponder some more, Gil had no idea why he was there if he was not going to get any coffee but opted not to ask - he wanted to be as far away from that spear as he could get.

"Sorry about Yama, he’s...stubborn when it comes to speaking to others who can’t understand Japanese. Despite all of us Robot Masters being programmed with highly sophisticated linguistic capabilities."

That would explain why Impact Man replied in English when his cousin had spoken in Japanese, Gil scoffed but chose to not linger on the less than pleasant encounter.

When the trio finally made it to the lab there was a lot of activity around them, Gil observed the workers as they all assembled different pieces of Block Man’s body while the main body laid on a lab table. The state of Block Man’s body was a far cry from the mangled pieces they’d recovered from the scrapyard.

Obsidian, who’d previously been resting rather carefree on Impact Man’s shoulder, flew away from their friend to interact with the busy workers.

"Hey Impy! Back with the grumpy human already?"

The enthusiastic voice that greeted them both belonged to a blue Robot Master that was quickly approaching them, this Robot Master was a lot taller than Yamato Man and stood eye to eye with Impact Man. Blue, white and yellow adorned his armored body while two big cables protruded out from his chest and arched over his shoulders then connected back to his body via a small red tank fastened onto his lower back while his head was shaped like a beach bucket.

"Hey there grumpy gramps, why don’t you turn that frown upside down?"

Gil had to use every ounce of self control in his body in order to not attempt to punch the bubble Robot Master, Burst Man as his cousin introduced him was very clearly a very fun loving guy - an extreme opposite to his older brother Yamato Man.

Impact Man made the smart move of taking his bubbly cousin aside in order to avoid any potential broken hands which allowed Gil to walk over to the people he was really here to see.

Gil saw Earl and Takano staring at a monitor with furrowed brows and hushed voices while another human man stood by them, the agent recognized this Asian man to be Shu Tsubakuro, two Robot Masters had also gathered along with them and one of which Gil recognized as Wind Man.

"Got anything useful out of that circuit?"

Gil spoke up as he joined the group, Block Man's cognitive circuit was the biggest piece of valuable evidence they had in this investigation and anything it could yield would answers massive questions.

"We have, all the data stored in here is in good condition and well organized so finding the memory files was a piece of cake. Care to have a seat agent Stern?"

The Robot Master whom Gil did not recognize, Tengu Man, pulled up a chair for him as Takano spoke to him while Earl was accessing the memory files. A hush fell over the lab as all eyes turned to the monitor.

**NHN-001 MEMORY FILES**

**LATEST RECORDED MEMORY SELECTED**

**SELECTED MEMORY RECORDED APRIL 13TH 2012 21:37 PM**

**PLAYING MEMORY NOW...**

It was finally over.

Block Man kept staring out at the night sky through the window, silvery grey clouds rolled on by like a fog while the moonlight illuminated the dark. The fog like clouds shielded the view of the star filled sky but the Robot Master could still see the small specks of light through the cracks, it was a peaceful silence around him.

He should probably go into sleep mode soon.

"I wonder what she’ll say about it all..."

He thought out loud to himself, he’d tried his best to put everything he’d experienced the day the dam broke into understandable words. Hopefully it might help someone.

Block Man finally left his spot at the window and laid down in his bed, he heard the guards shuffling about behind his cell door - must be an early guard change which has happened before. He hears them sometimes, shuffling of feet or the muffled voices...

What was that noise?

The noise Block Man heard was a scraping one, metal against metal, and it was getting louder by the second. Hesitantly the construction Robot Master sat up on his bed and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, something in his metallic gut told him the noise did not originate from any guard.

The noise eventually ceased and all was silent for a while, Block Man stared intently at the cell door and waited for anything to happen, again the shuffling of feet was heard and then the door swung open with a rattling bang as it smashed against the hard wall next to the door. Block Man jumped in alarm at the noise and saw a single person step into his cell.

The person wore a green colored uniform and a green hat, on their right arm there was a emblem stitched into the fabric display a stylized S with a spear going straight through it, in their dark gloved hand was a strange gun that they had aimed straight at him.

Was that electricity?

**NHN-001 TEMPORARILY OFFLINE**

**NHN-001 RETURNING ONLINE**

Block Man woke up to multiple alarms blearing in his computer brain, multiple parts of his body were malfunctioning and refusing to obey the commands to move that he was sending out, his blue eyes flickered around his strange surroundings to try and see where he was.

All he saw around him was trash, broken machines and other such hardware.

No sign of that strange person in the green uniform, only dark walls and a red light glaring down from overhead. Block Man was all alone in the dark room and with seemingly no way out...wait! The construction Robot Master squinted in concentration and saw the fair details of a big metal door on the far end of the room.

If he could make it over to that door then it would be a breeze to just force it open with his super enhanced strength and then look for some answers. It might even be his chance to...

Block Man sighed sadly, it might be a golden opportunity to visit his family and confirm for himself whether they truly had turned their backs on him or not. This might be the only chance he’d ever get.

The construction Robot Master shook away his creeping sadness then slowly forced his limbs to cooperate with his computer brain, whatever electricity that gun had hit him with had really messed him up and he dared not wonder why such a gun even existed.

Maneuvering across the absolute bottomless sea of broken junk was tough for someone as heavy as Block Man but he was steadily albeit slowly making his way to that big metal door.

"Huh...?"

The red light overheard suddenly turned green and a loud metallic creaking sounded through the room, Block Man looked around frantically to try and see what was causing the loud noise, to his horror though Block Man saw the walls starting to close in on him.

This was not just any room full of broken junk, it was a trash compactor!

"No!"

Block Man yelled out in fear as he saw the junk caught up by the enclosing walls building up in height, the walls were drawing closer and soon he’d drown under all the junk until he was crushed. He’d drown...drown...

"No...not again!"

The fear in Block Man’s systems sky rocketed as the memories of suffocating water and crushing waves returned to him, he did not want to be there again! The door, the door was his only hope of escape! But could he make it?

Blue eyes riddled with terror looked over at his only beacon of hope and desperation forced his body to move, the walls were drawing ever closer and the threatening piles of junk warned him of their intent to fully submerge him into the crushing abyss.

Why was this happening to him!?

The construction Robot Master forced his way closer to the only exit and pondered that glaring question, was this his execution? Had the investigation already been wrapped and this was the judgement he deserved? Well...he knew that last part already but why had it happened so out of nowhere?

Answers! Why was there no answers!?

Fear gave way to anger, dormant for so long but now fully boiling over, and Block Man steeled his glare as his trembling hands finally touched the big door. Pushing the rest of his body forward he drew back his right arm then punched straight into the metallic door in front of him.

A dent the size of his clenched fist was visible in the metal and Block Man could not explain how good it felt to punch the door.

Another punch and the dent grew bigger, the walls drew closer and the towers of junk fell over into the consuming abyss, another punch in the metal and there formed a small crack in the door. Block Man forced his fingers into the crack, not caring one bit how much it ripped up the fabric on his hands, then he poured all of his rage into forcing the door open.

He wanted answers!

He wanted to see his family again!

He wanted some form of closure!

"I AM BLOCKY NAKAUME AND I REFUSE TO DIE TONIGHT!"

Block Man screamed in his full anger to whoever or whatever was listening as the metal of the door gave way to his strength like butter and soon Block Man saw the interior of a large hallway opening up before him.

His escape was within reach!

...or so he thought.

Suddenly appearing in his path was a man wearing a green uniform with that same emblem as that person who’d put Block Man in this situation in the first place, his skin was fair and his light brown hair was in a buzz cut while his light brown eyes feebly glared him down, this human man was holding that same type of gun as the one that had knocked Block Man out before though this man’s grip was shaky.

Blue eyes filled with rage clashed with light brown eyes filled with uncertainty.

Though...there was something familiar about this human man, Block Man couldn’t place what it was though.

"You..."

The human man visibly winced then slowly averted his gaze and trembling fingers gripped the gun tighter, the trigger slowly being pulled.

"Wait...you are-"

Block Man was cut off from speaking as the electricity from the gun once more encased his body and everything around him began to rapidly shut off, his body fell backwards into the waiting abyss of junk as the walls were mere moments from touching.

"I’m so sorry..."

**NHN-001 DEACTIVATED**

**TIME AND DATE OF DEACTIVATION APRIL 13TH 22:19 PM**

The memory file closed itself to utter silence in the lab of Nakaume Heavy Machinery, no one dared to speak as Gil leaned back into his chair with a visible scowl on his face. His voice tore through the horrified silence with its sheer bite and venom.

"Seems like we are dealing with the Emerald Spears again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plenty of cameos in this chapter!
> 
> So as I mentioned last chapter, this chapter was originally going to be chapter 9 and the whole of chapter 9 was going to be this chapter but I realized very early that that was not how I wanted the story to flow so I changed it up and I am very content with how it turned out.


	11. Meetings and Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A loose end is tied up as Block Man finally reunited with his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan, Takano Tsubakuro, Obsidian and Rita Esposito belong to me.

_"The Emerald Spears? It makes sense but even so...so many human lives sacrificed in order to just get rid of one Robot Master? It doesn’t sound like their ideology."_

Gil hummed in agreement as he nursed a cup of warm coffee, the agent was leaning against the furthest wall of the lab in Nakaume Heavy Machinery while activity continued around him. The shock of what Block Man’s memory had shown them had gradually washed away into determination to rebuild the Robot Master.

"No, it does not. From our previous encounters with them I had them pegged as robot hating and human loving extremists but today’s revelation really turned that on its head. Their way of going about things have changed, they’re even more dangerous now than before."

From the other side of the cellphone line Roslyn hummed while the sound of keyboard typing could be heard, Gil exhaled with a very light smirk on his face - count on his partner to work even when she was supposed to be resting.

_"So we can then assume it’s been by their hand that we’ve been running in circles until now?"_

There was small doubt about that now, the Emerald Spears had been stringing them along the whole time.

"That janitor was probably a spy of theirs, sent to the dam in order to learn the layout and get info on the target, same with the mysterious caller who had been harassing Mister Nakaume - the whole 'unsightly abomination' thing should’ve really tipped us off - and my money is on our mysterious Lisa E being one of theirs as well."

Gil counted off as he took a gulp of his coffee, Roslyn hummed and ceased her typing on her end. Gil could almost picture the look of uncertainty and speculation on his partner’s face.

_"Perhaps...I have a few thoughts regarding her though. I’ve looked over the dead ends we hit when looking for her again and I’m starting to wonder if we are looking for the wrong woman, I’ve called as many therapists by the name of Lisa as I could find but none fit the description of the woman who visited Blocky. Gil, could it be possible we either got the name wrong or the witnesses remembered her name incorrectly?"_

Gil scowled at the prospect of that, he was sure without a doubt that he’d heard the guards refer to the therapist as Lisa but he allowed his partner to carry on with her speculations.

_"The woman we are looking for has mocha colored skin and dark brown borderline black hair and her eye color was reported to be grey, her hair was medium length and somewhat curly, of average height and body shape with a Spanish accent to boot. None of the women I approached matched the description fully if at all."_

Roslyn seemed to have put a lot of thought into this, Gil admired that.

_"I don’t believe the guards lied to us, I believe the answer is simple. I think our mystery woman said her name but her accent made it hard to properly grasp it."_

If Gil had not been holding a warm cup of coffee in his hand at the moment then he wouldn’t have hesitated to plant his face firmly in the palm of his hand, could the answer to why they had not yet found this woman truly be that simple? Had an accent botched their attempts to find this woman? God help him if that was the case.

"Well Rosie, if that is true then I’m treating you to dinner."

Roslyn chuckled humorously from her end of the line, she knew this proposition would’ve upset her partner some.

_"I’ll look forward to it thenbut back on track. All that leaves us with only our mysterious helper from yesterday, he did give us truthful intel into where Blocky was but that also concerns me - why did he reach out to help us and how did he come upon Blocky's remains?"_

Those were two major questions that neither held the answer to, so many threads still hung loose in the air.

"I’m not too sure yet, you keep speculating Rosie."

Gil bid his partner goodbye and finished his cup with a less than pleased look upon his face, the agent hated when there was unanswered questions. However for now he had to focus on the current moment.

Looking over to the lab table Gil saw Block Man fully assembled and ready to be reactivated, impressive how fast these people worked. He wouldn’t admit out loud how impressed he was though.

"They work rather fast, don’t they?"

The agent nearly jumped out of his skin when the sudden voice spoke up next to him, a female voice laced with a Spanish accent...

Gil looked to his left to see a woman in her early twenties with mocha colored skin and dark brown to borderline black hair, her eyes held a grey hue, her somewhat curly hair was held up into a neat bun. She was average in height and body shape as well.

She smiled knowingly at Gil when she saw his shocked expression.

"My name is Rita Esposito and I’m the therapist who’d been speaking to Blocky until he was taken away, and I’ve been told by my friends Earl and Takano that you’ve been looking for me."

Gil stiffened when he heard her speak her name, Rita Esposito was mentioned to have died in Block Man’s recollection of when the dam exploded.

As if to answer the question teetering on his lips Rita pulled aside her fringe that had been covering most of her forehead to reveal a nasty looking scar that marred most of her forehead.

"I was in my car when the dam broke, the suddenness of it all made me lose focus and I drove my car straight into a tree however thankfully the airbags saved me from suffering brain damage. Had Blocky not pulled my unconscious body out of my half submerged car when he did then I might’ve either died from the blood loss or drowned, I owe him my life."

The smile on her face turned solemn as she allowed her fringe to fall back over her forehead, covering up the nasty scar.

"Was that the reason why you volunteered so insistently?"

Gil asked professionally, he wouldn’t allow the exasperation he felt to show on his face - he owed Roslyn dinner now.

"Yes, but I also did that in order to get close to him. I wanted to get to know this Robot Master that my late brother spoke so highly of, that he’d called his best friend. I wanted to see for myself if Blocky had truly killed my family and friends but I can safely say that Blocky is innocent."

Gil nodded slowly, Rita looked off towards the lab table that held Block Man and her smile lost some of the sadness it had held.

"I hope you can bring those Emerald Spears to justice Agent Stern, for the sake of not only my late family but for all of us."

Rita nodded a goodbye to Gil as she strode away to speak to Takano, her words of hope holding a heavy weight that Gil understood perfectly well - it was the weight of grief and subdued vengeance.

"I hope so too Miss Esposito, I hope so too."

Gil muttered to himself quietly as slowly life was poured back into Block Man’s body, his limbs twitched and slowly his eyes opened.

Block Man blinked slowly as he took in the familiar sight around him, he knew this place. This was the lab he’d been in when Impact Man got activated for the first time but how had he gotten here?

"Blocky?"

A soft and familiar voice spoke next to him, the construction Robot Master flinched and hesitantly looked to his right to see his family looking down upon him with many mixed expressions of worry and hope. Block Man had wanted to see his family but now that they were here with him his words failed him.

Still, he needed to say something.

"I...I know you all might hate me but-"

Before Block Man could finish his sentence he was pulled into a tight hug by his brother and sister, not far behind them were all of his nephews and...a floating ball?

"We don’t hate you, never have and never will."

Takano spoke softly and her words riddled her little brother with a lot of confusion as he slowly wrapped his arms around them both.

"We tried to contact you, we tried to visit you but each time we got repelled."

Earl clarified with a watery smile, Block Man gasped in shock and looked around at his family dumbfounded.

They didn’t hate him? And they’d tried to contact him?

Block Man didn’t even fight the tears that spilled from his eyes, he was so confused and lost but the mere fact that his family had not turned their backs on him like he’d thought made him forget all of that.

"Welcome home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned to have Rita survive the dam disaster from the very start and the fact that she was the one who was talking to Blocky was somewhat hinted at.
> 
> Not the best chapter of this story but I still hope it’s enjoyable.


	12. Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Block Man had not understood his father’s hatred, but now he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earl Donovan, Obsidian, Rita Esposito, Luca Esposito, Nakaume Okazaki, Takano and Shu Tsubakuro belong to me.

**_ Known terrorist group, the Emerald Spears, have been discovered to have orchestrated the massacre of Agradable's entire population of 2 018 people! The Emerald Spears are highly dangerous and measures are being taken to capture them as fast as possible. _ **

**_ If you have information regarding the Emerald Spears call: XXXX-XXX-XX _ **

**_ The full story can be found on page 18. _ **

Block Man folded the newspaper up and set it aside, he sighed heavily and gazed out of the kitchen window. Five days had passed since he’d been reactivated, yet it felt like only yesterday. Quietly he sipped some from his E-tank, being the first to wake has its perks - namely a peaceful moment for thoughts during breakfast.

Shuffling feet broke Block Man’s peace and the construction Robot Master looked away from the window to see his brother entering the kitchen.

"Father really drilled his habits into you huh? Early risers both of you."

Earl grumbled under his breath, sleep still heavy in his eyes, Block Man chuckled humorously in response to the human man's sour mood when waking. The construction Robot Master watched his brother pour himself some tea.

Earl had recovered significantly in the past couple of days, the bags under his eyes had disappeared and his complexion had gotten back it’s healthy hue, no longer did he look disheveled and ready to collapse.

"You just love sleeping in father."

Following not too far behind the human came his son Impact Man and Obsidian, both in much cheerier dispositions, Impact Man grabbed an E-tank for himself and joined his uncle by the table while Obsidian nuzzled into Earl's warm hair and purred.

Block Man watched the strange orb robot, he still couldn’t quite grasp what Obsidian was nor where they came from but as long as they didn’t pose a threat to his family then he wouldn’t mind them much.

"Excited to finally get back to work?"

Block Man was taken out of his thoughts when his nephew nudged his side with his large elbow, the smaller Robot Master of the two hummed in contemplation. Was he excited? Perhaps...though for the most part the only thing he longed for was a place with no water.

A simple nod was all he gave in response.

"You’ll like it at our factory, lots of friendly people there."

Impact Man went on to reassure him with a friendly glint in his brown eyes, Block Man didn’t doubt the other’s words since he’d gotten quite a good preview of those friendly workers when he’d been reactivated.

Casting a quick glance at the wall mounted clock Block Man excused himself from the table and discarded his E-tank in the trash.

"I’ve got an appointment before work, I might run a little late."

Earl raised an inquisitive brow upon this sudden declaration but simply nodded in acknowledgment while sipped his warm tea, Obsidian still firmly nuzzled into his locks of dark hair, Block Man just shot his brother and nephew a smile through his eyes then teleported away to a less pleasant place.

Secure walls were replaced by lush grown trees and the peaceful presence of family was replaced by the anxiety inducing sound of flowing water. Block Man shuddered at the sound and held himself in a weak attempt at self comfort.

River Pleasant flowed on without a care for his traumatic experience within its depths.

A warm hand softly touched the top of Block Man’s head and his shuddering eyes glanced up to see Rita’s soft gaze looking down upon him with clear sympathy.

"Are you sure about this?"

Her voice was softly registered in his audio receptors and he knew what she meant, if he was sure about returning to this wretched place so soon, but he simply nodded and shakily took her hand into his own.

Rita frowned sadly for a brief second before a soft smile grazed her lips.

They walked down that familiar bumpy road, the river accompanying them the whole way, past the ruins of the dam and past a broken tree. Memories rushed through them both, of water and pain.

The tragic irony of it all was tangible, a place named Pleasant was now nothing but unpleasant.

"Are you satisfied with this outcome, Miss Rita?"

Far away from the two, in another part of the continent, Roslyn carefully balanced a tray of three coffee cups and a stack of sandwiches while skillfully maneuvering around the busy police department until she made it back to the office she shared with Gil. Inside the office Gil was grumbling to himself while reading the morning paper and where Roslyn usually sat waited her best friend and fellow agent Simone Miller, both perked up when Roslyn announced her arrival and gratefully accepted the offered coffee and sandwich.

"No, far from it. No definitive criminal was brought to justice and many questions still remain unanswered, there is no clear face to place my hatred on. I’m deeply unsatisfied...but how do you feel Blocky?"

Not too far away from where they walked, Dr Astil trimmed a bush of colorful flowers while humming contently to himself. Plant Man hummed alongside his father while gathering ripened cherry tomatoes and placing them in a whicker basket carried by his little brother Ocean Man who tried but failed to hum along as well, outside of the greenhouse in the warm sunshine Robbie Astil was washing his motorcycle with his helmet placed on the ground next to him where Tomahawk Man was practicing some throwing motions for his Silver Tomahawk.

"I...I don’t really know, not yet anyway. I am angry, angry beyond measure, yet I feel like I’m stuck. I’m so confused. Miss Rita? Where were you on the day I was taken away by the Emerald Spears?"

Somewhere unknown to them, two men sat on a couch watching TV. The one holding the remote fidgeted nervously, news reports on the Emerald Spears again and again they were labeled as terrorists, the other scowled in deep anger and slammed a furious fist into the coffee table in front of them both.

"I was here, thinking of my family and wishing Luca a happy birthday, I kept more than just one thought of him in my heart that night."

In a car driving down a road, Earl leisurely played a game of 'I spy' with Impact Man who was giddily searching around for what his father had spied while Obsidian was content with just humming on his shoulder. An air of peace had returned to the little family despite of the loss they’d suffered.

"Oh...it makes sense now. Wish I had recognized you earlier Miss Rita."

All the way across the oceans, Takano slept a dreamless sleep next to Shu. The bags under her eyes were gone while the marks of worry were gone from his face, their boys shared this more relaxed state of sleep with their parents. In their living room a photograph of Nakaume Okazaki was propped up on a shelf, a small vase stood next to it with his favorite flowers inside - roses.

"Can’t be helped, the only instance you saw my face was when your optics were partially damaged and my face was covered in blood."

The two ceased walking when they came upon a fork in the road, ahead of that fork many trees had fallen over and water was splashing around the gaps. This was as far as they could go.

Forlornly Block Man and Rita gazed out across the surface of the river to where their home had once been not too long go, where their friends and family had been waiting for them not too long ago.

"It’s unfair."

Block Man stated numbly, softly he squeezed Rita’s hand who in turn squeezed right back. The human woman nodded in silence.

"My father once told me about a grudge he refused to let go of, a grudge he most likely took with him to his untimely death, the hatred he spoke of back then...I couldn’t understand it. Not back then anyway, but now..."

Block Man’s voice dropped into a sharp growl and he s blue eyes turned cold as ice, his murderous gaze was fixated forward into the watery depths he feared so much yet his gaze was also directed towards the people who’d wronged him in the most horrific way imaginable.

"I hate them, I hate them all, and I promise here and now that I will not find true peace until they all get the just punishment they deserve. Only when they have suffered the way I have, will I be truly satisfied."

Rita frowned at the venomous words being spewed out by the Robot Master, she did not disagree with his feelings nor his words but still...it was dangerous for a human let alone a Robot Master to say things like that.

But what right did she have to chastise him, when her feelings were identical?

"Just don’t lose yourself to that hatred, I doubt your father would forgive you if you did that."

Once again she squeezed his hand though this time in order to pull him away from the dangerous territory he was treading, Block Man blinked a couple of times then chuckled with a sad fondness in his voice.

"Yes, that does indeed sound like something my father would do, that stubborn old man..."

Rita chuckled along with him as they remained by that fork for a few more minutes until they had to retrace their route, Rita climbed into her new car then waved goodbye to Block Man as he teleported away.

When the Robot Master opened his eyes once more he took in the sight of a familiar building, Nakaume Heavy Machinery, his new place of work. Block Man did miss his old workplace but this new one would just have to make do.

Block Man recalled his father’s words as he began to walk across the parking lot.

_"I was angry, I hated the people who took my family and my leg from me. I still hate them, that has not changed at all, no amount of excuses can satisfy me. I don’t think I have the ability to forgive, should I forgive them?"_

Impact Man and Obsidian were there to greet him, the larger Robot Master happily welcomed his uncle to his new workplace. Block Man snickered at his nephew's enthusiasm but did not try to deter him from pulling him along for a tour that was not truly needed.

_"You will experience as you live my son, the feelings of hatred from others and yourself as well as the feelings of forgiveness. But I want to impart this to you in particular, grudges, a grudge can and will destroy you so be careful."_

Obsidian flew around the uncle and nephew duo as they both greeted their fellow colleagues who happily greeted them in return, it was hard to believe that the factory had just a week or two ago been consumed by a thick air of doom and gloom. The tour reached its final destination once they entered Earl's office.

_"I hope you never have to experience what it is like to bear a grudge, a heavy weight like that will fester inside your heart like an illness until it kills you."_

Earl greeted all three with a warm smile as Impact Man proudly declared the tour over while Obsidian took their favorite resting spot amongst Earl's curls of hair, Block Man smiled through his blue eyes and thanked his nephew for the tour.

Back then he had not understood his father’s words but now he did, which was probably rather unfortunate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus we reach the end of this story with Nakaume’s warnings from chapter 3 hanging above us. This was definitely a peculiar journey for me since the first chapter had actually been in the works ever since I was writing "Five promises and one lie" so it feels very surreal to finally see it finished.
> 
> A few pieces of trivia I felt like sharing.
> 
> Obsidian was actually added in on a whim but their presence just clicked with me so I’m very happy I added them, expect more from Obsidian in the future!
> 
> Originally I had planned on having Nakaume’s wife be present and alive in the story but I opted to have her already be deceased by the time Blocky was born, regardless of that her name was Rosa Donovan and she was a native to Agradable. She’s the reason roses are Nakaume’s favorite flowers, they remind him of his beloved wife.
> 
> Enough rambling from me, see you all next week for a new journey.

**Author's Note:**

> The last two stories I posted were happy and nice but now it’s time for the sad again! What fun, am I right?
> 
> Now right off the bat I must clarify I have zero knowledge when it comes to how crime investigation is carried out and such so if I get things wrong, which I will, please forgive me and I do apologize in advance.


End file.
